00:00Malaysia is set to implement the 24-hour per-keso protection scheme,
00:04extending social protection coverage to employees even when they are outside working hours.
00:09The initiative is seen as a significant step towards strengthening the country's social safety net
00:13at a time when rising medical costs, cost of living pressures and the risk of income loss
00:18due to accidents remain key concerns for many households.
00:22However, questions remain as to whether employees will view the scheme
00:25as a meaningful form of financial protection or simply another deduction from their monthly salary.
00:31So to discuss these issues further, we are joined by Han Liu, the founder and CEO of Halogen Capital.
00:37Thank you so much, Han Liu, for joining us this morning.
00:39We see that many employers see this new scheme as just another salary deduction.
00:44So from a personal finance perspective, are they actually paying for financial protection
00:49that is worth far more than the monthly contribution itself?
00:51Or do you have any other thoughts?
00:55Yeah, I think this 24-hour protection scheme was introduced by per-keso I think last month, right?
01:03So the first deductions happened on the 30th of June, right?
01:07And I think the objective there was, you know, SOXO previously covered accidents at work
01:16and on the way to work across a number of things, not just, you know, insurance protection, right?
01:20It was like things like medical coverage, rehab and recovery, pensions if you couldn't work anymore.
01:28So it's a regular monthly pension rather than a lump sum payout like insurance or takaful and stuff
01:34and things like, you know, dependent benefits, dependent education benefits, stuff like that.
01:41So the coverage in the core SOXO during work hours was very comprehensive for the average worker.
01:52But SOXO wanted to extend this coverage to the time outside of work.
01:58So not just on the way to work or at work.
02:00So even at home, when you are out and about in your daily life, in their minds, 24 hours a
02:07day.
02:07So for me, it was just extending coverage.
02:10I think the issue that most people felt was surprising was it was not well communicated
02:18by either employers or PCASO itself beforehand.
02:23So it was a lot of surprise to everyone.
02:25Hey, I've been included and I wasn't told about it.
02:28Then the second issue was we are used to having employer deductions as well as employee deductions.
02:35So both were seen to contribute together.
02:37But in this case, it was just the employee.
02:42So only the employee was deducted.
02:45So I think a lot of people were very surprised despite the coverage being quite comprehensive actually.
02:51But realistically speaking, we see that Malaysia continues to face a significant insurance protection gap.
02:56So to what extent can the 24-hour lindung 24 jam protection scheme can actually help bridge the gap?
03:02Maybe particularly for workers who do not have personal accident insurance?
03:09No, absolutely.
03:10I think if you look at the majority of issues for Malaysians under the age of 60 or working age
03:17Malaysians,
03:18the one thing that stops them from working well is actually not so much illnesses but accidents, right?
03:24Because younger Malaysians are less prone to illnesses than older Malaysians naturally.
03:30So majority of the reasons why you may not be able to work at a younger age is due to
03:36an accident rather than a chronic illness that medical coverage or your medical card covers.
03:43So accident coverage is something very, very important for younger, especially working Malaysians.
03:48So for me, this is actually a very important tool, right?
03:51Like for income protection, if anything happens to you, your family is protected.
03:57If anything happens to you, your income is protected.
03:59So you get a pension from a long-term injury or disablement.
04:03These protections are very, very basic, right?
04:06Just the key is to put yourself in that situation where you can no longer work due to an accident.
04:12You know, this is a very important scheme to protect you from that situation.
04:16And for Malaysians which maybe don't have this coverage, I strongly advise them to consider.
04:23Perhaps many Malaysians have their own private insurance or private coverage which covers accidents.
04:28Then they can consider opting out if they already have the coverage.
04:32Help us understand, Han, because the contribution is fully borne by employees.
04:37But from a household financial planning perspective, how should people view the trade-off between a slightly lower monthly take
04:45-home pay and a stronger long-term financial protection?
04:48How can we balance between these two?
04:53I think the important thing is to consider whether or not you are protected, right?
04:58So if you're within your budget, you already are paying for private insurance, then actually maybe perhaps this additional deduction
05:05is double paying.
05:06And if you're worried about cost of living issues, you're worried about your budgeting process, perhaps you might want to
05:12consider opting out because you are already covered.
05:14But for anyone who's completely uncovered, you have no insurance or takafu protection from accidents or injury or death.
05:24This is an easy way to opt-in, you know, you don't have to think too much about it.
05:29It's kept at RM45 a month at the moment.
05:33And it provides quite comprehensive protection, right?
05:36I have to say, it's not just lump sum payments, which most insurance companies do.
05:40This is a long-term protection.
05:44You get a pension if you cannot work for the rest of your life.
05:48Your children or wife are looked after completely on a monthly basis.
05:53So you get paid a large percentage of your monthly salary if you pass away from an accident.
06:01So these are very important things that every Malaysian should have.
06:06If you don't have it, it's worth considering and stretching your budget a little bit.
06:10If you do have it anyway and you're using your budget, your monthly budget to spend on insurance or takafu,
06:15then perhaps you want to consider that not doing it because you already have it.
06:20Yeah, this brings the, this is related to what you answered earlier.
06:25Is per case to this 24-hour coverage sufficient on its own?
06:28Should employers still consider medical insurance, life insurance, also personal accident coverage
06:32as part of Comprehensive Financial Protection Plan?
06:35And do you have any other suggestions for someone who has a very tight budget for that?
06:43Absolutely.
06:44I think if you are concerned about being forced into the system, right?
06:49And you have a very tight budget and you go, I can't quite afford this 45 ringgit,
06:54maximum of 45 ringgit of deduction per month rising to 75 ringgit by 2031, by the way.
07:01It's worth you saying, okay, perhaps I don't need that kind of comprehensive protection,
07:05but I do need a little bit of protection given my current budget.
07:09There are insurance and takafu options which can be lower than 45 ringgit if you're looking
07:14at pure accident coverage.
07:16For example, if you already have a medical card, but you're worried about income coverage
07:21if you get injured, right?
07:23So your medical is settled, but you're unable to work for a while and you need some kind
07:31of income protection or income replacement.
07:34There are options out there who can pay a lump sum basis, which can be much lower than
07:3845 ringgit a month.
07:41So if you have a tight budget, there are private options out there.
07:44You can consider opting out of Perkeso's Lindung 24 jam and buying your own personal private
07:52insurance for accidents, right?
07:54So I think that that can be a bit cheaper, but a lot less comprehensive.
07:59But now we're talking about the traditional workers.
08:02Because Malaysia is now seeing a growing number of gig workers, freelancers and also individuals
08:06with multiple income streams.
08:08So should social protection schemes like this, this Lindung 24 hours, be expanded to cover
08:15non-traditional workers so that protection is not limited only to those in the formal employment?
08:20Han?
08:23Yeah, I think so.
08:24I think at the moment, Sox Perkeso allows you to contribute as a gig worker while you're
08:30on your job.
08:30Let's say you are a food delivery rider or an e-hailing driver.
08:35You can do a self-contribution or request a contribution through the platform operator
08:41to protect you on the job.
08:43But I think one of the things that you might want to consider is opting in to either this
08:5124 hour if your operator enables it or get your own private personal accident because
08:58you may not be covered from this scheme.
09:02So, thank you so much to Han Liu.
09:05That was Han Liu, the founder and also the CEO of Halogen Capital City.
09:08And we see that as Malaysia moves towards broader social protection coverage, the key challenge
09:13will be ensuring that employees view the scheme not just as additional cost but as meaningful
09:17safeguard against unexpected financial shocks.
09:21So again, thank you so much to Han Liu.
09:22And you can find this whole discussion on all of our social media platforms and that includes
09:26astroawani.com.
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