Malaysia to introduce injury scheme to protect workers beyond office hours - PM

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will soon introduce the Non-Employment Injury Scheme to ensure workers are protected beyond office hours, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced.

He said the introduction of the scheme stems from a realisation that the pressures of work do not stop at the factory gate or the office door.

"In an age of flexible and remote arrangements, this reform will align protection with the realities of how people live and work today.

"And crucially, it will extend coverage around the clock, recognising that accidents and injuries do not keep to a timetable," he said in his keynote speech at the World Social Security Forum 2025 here today.

Present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri and Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh Minister.

Anwar said social protection is not a bureaucratic system of benefits, but a moral infrastructure.

"Earlier civilisations understood this. In the Islamic tradition, the baitulmal ensured that wealth served the poor, the widowed, the orphaned and the elderly. That legacy of justice and solidarity continues to inspire us," he said.

He said guided by these principles, Malaysia is reshaping its own social protection, extending security to those who have long stood outside the net, such as informal workers, homemakers and gig riders.

Themed "Shaping Social Security For A World In Transition", the five-day forum, beginning today, gathers over 1,500 participants from over 135 countries to discuss a global roadmap for an inclusive, sustainable and future-ready social security system.

The forum will culminate in the World Social Security Summit on Friday, where leaders will set the tone for the next decade of inclusive and future-ready social security worldwide. - BERNAMA