Ashraf, a community pharmacist at a retail chain in Klang Valley, noticed a new line on his June payslip: SKBBK — RM31.50. A quick WhatsApp to his pharmacist group chat told him it was something to do with SOCSO and accidents. Half the group said to keep it. The other half said to opt out the moment they could. Nobody could really explain why.
If your payslip has the same unfamiliar deduction, you’re not alone — and given how much this scheme has changed in just a few weeks, the confusion is understandable. Here’s what LINDUNG 24 Jam actually is, what it costs you, what it pays out, and how to think through the stay-or-opt-out decision as a pharmacist.
What Exactly Is LINDUNG 24 Jam?
LINDUNG 24 Jam — officially the Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja (SKBBK), or “Non-Employment Injury Scheme” — is a new PERKESO (SOCSO) protection scheme that came into force on 1 June 2026. It was introduced through the Employees’ Social Security (Amendment) Act 2026, gazetted in March 2026.
For decades, SOCSO’s Employment Injury Scheme only paid out for accidents that happened at work or while commuting. Trip and fall at home on your day off, get into an accident cycling on a Sunday, or have something happen during a family outing — and you had no SOCSO cover at all. LINDUNG 24 Jam closes that gap. It covers non-work-related accidents anywhere in Malaysia, around the clock — including things like festive-season travel, holiday trips, falls at home, accidents during religious observance, and recreational sport. Accidents overseas are not covered.
The U-Turn That Made It Optional
This is the part that’s confused most people, pharmacists included. The scheme launched as a mandatory deduction on 1 June 2026. Following public pushback over yet another payroll deduction, the Cabinet reversed course on 8 July 2026, and as of 13 July 2026, participation is voluntary for Malaysian employees — though it remains mandatory for foreign workers. If you want out, you submit a “TIDAK MENYERTAI” (opt-out) declaration through PERKESO’s LINDUNG portal and give a copy to your employer. You can also rejoin later if you change your mind — this isn’t a one-way door.
There’s a real deadline attached to this decision: the opt-out window runs from 13 July to 31 August 2026. If you don’t act by then, PERKESO’s default rule — “once eligible, always eligible” under Act 4 — kicks in, and you continue as a contributor. If you’re still undecided, don’t let this one drift.
One practical note: contributions already deducted aren’t refunded, since they provided valid coverage for that month.
What You’re Actually Paying
The contribution is fully borne by you, the employee — your employer doesn’t top it up, unlike standard SOCSO contributions. In Phase 1, the rate is roughly 0.75% of your monthly wage, capped at a RM6,000 wage ceiling. That means the most anyone pays is around RM45 a month, regardless of how much above RM6,000 they earn. The rate is scheduled to rise in phases to 1.25% over the coming years.
| Monthly Wage | Approx. Phase 1 Deduction (0.75%) |
|---|---|
| RM 4,500 (early-career, fully registered community pharmacist) | ~RM 33.75 / month |
| RM 6,000 (mid-career, at the wage ceiling) | ~RM 45.00 / month (capped) |
| RM 8,000+ (senior / head pharmacist) | ~RM 45.00 / month — still capped, since anyone above RM6,000 pays the same maximum |
Figures are illustrative based on the Phase 1 rate; refer to PERKESO’s official contribution table for exact amounts by wage band.
What You Get For It
The scheme mirrors the existing Employment Injury Scheme and offers eight categories of benefit:
| Benefit | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Temporary Disablement Benefit | Paid for your full MC period (minimum 4 days including the accident date), based on PERKESO’s assumed wage schedule — reviewed if MC extends past 180 days |
| Permanent Disablement Benefit | Ongoing monthly income-replacement payment based on age, wage category, and disability percentage assessed by a PERKESO Medical Board — PERKESO’s own FAQ describes this explicitly as income replacement |
| Medical Benefit | Treatment costs, subject to PERKESO’s rules on private vs. public facilities |
| Constant Attendance Allowance | Fixed RM500/month if you need daily care from another person |
| Physical/Vocational Rehabilitation | Return-to-work support and rehab facilities |
| Dependants’ Benefit | Ongoing monthly payment to your dependants if you die from a covered accident — PERKESO frames this as income continuation for the family, calculated the same way as the Employment Injury Scheme |
| Funeral Benefit | RM3,000, paid to an eligible next-of-kin or whoever bore the funeral costs |
| Education Benefit | A loan (not a grant) for a dependant’s child if you die or are on Permanent Disablement Benefit |
One genuinely useful detail: you can claim LINDUNG 24 Jam even if you already hold a private personal accident policy or a medical card. “I already have insurance” isn’t a reason PERKESO would reject a claim. The one restriction is that you can’t claim both the Employment Injury Scheme and SKBBK for the same accident.
The Catch — What LINDUNG 24 Jam Doesn’t Do
To PERKESO’s credit, the Permanent Disablement and Dependants’ Benefits are genuinely built as income replacement, not just token payouts — PERKESO’s own FAQ says so directly, and the calculation method mirrors the long-established Employment Injury Scheme. For a lower- or mid-income community pharmacist, that’s more meaningful than it first looks. A few things are still worth knowing before you decide either way:
- The “income” it replaces is PERKESO’s assumed wage, capped at RM6,000 — not your actual salary. If you earn above that ceiling, your periodic disablement or dependants’ payment will fall well short of your real income, even though the mechanism itself works like proper income replacement.
- It’s accident-only. PERKESO’s exclusion list is explicit: illness such as diabetes, fever, or high blood pressure isn’t covered — only injury caused by an accident. Cancer, stroke, heart attack, and other critical illnesses sit entirely outside this scheme.
- No overseas coverage. If you’re travelling for a conference, a course, or a holiday outside Malaysia, this scheme doesn’t follow you.
- Self-employed and locum pharmacists are excluded outright. PERKESO confirms this scheme only covers employees under an employer — not self-employed persons. If your income comes from locum work outside formal employment, LINDUNG 24 Jam simply doesn’t apply to you; you’d need to look at the separate Self-Employed scheme (Lindung Kendiri) instead.
So — Stay In or Opt Out?
Given the low cost — a maximum of around RM45 a month (up to a max of RM75 a month in Phase 3) — the honest answer for most pharmacists is that staying in isn’t a meaningful drain on your finances, and it genuinely does function as a modest income-replacement layer if you’re on a typical community pharmacist’s salary. The real risk isn’t the RM30–45 deduction. It’s assuming this now has you fully covered, and letting your critical illness cover, income protection above the wage ceiling, or overseas protection slide — because LINDUNG 24 Jam was never built to reach that far.
If you’re still deciding, keep the deadline in mind: the opt-out window closes on 31 August 2026. After that, staying in becomes the default you’re locked into unless you’d already opted out.
A few questions worth asking yourself before you decide either way:
- Do I already have personal accident or income protection coverage outside of work?
- If I couldn’t work for 3–6 months due to an accident, could my household absorb that on EPF and savings alone?
- Am I doing locum work, and is my SOCSO registration status actually current?
- Have I actually reviewed my protection gaps since starting this job — or am I just running on whatever was set up years ago?
If you can’t answer those confidently, the LINDUNG 24 Jam deduction on your payslip is a good prompt to actually look at the bigger picture — not just this one scheme in isolation.
Let’s Look at Your Full Picture
This scheme is a small, cheap layer — not a plan. For most community and retail pharmacists, the real gaps sit elsewhere: income protection if you’re out for months rather than days, critical illness cover, and making sure your EPF and personal savings are actually on track for the retirement a private-sector career gives you (no pension to fall back on, remember).
I work specifically with pharmacists to map out exactly where you stand — what LINDUNG 24 Jam and your existing SOCSO cover already handle, and where the real exposure still sits. If you’d like a second pair of eyes on your protection and financial plan, book a free consultation and let’s go through it together.
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Disclaimer: This post is for informational purpose only. You should use judgment and conduct due diligence before taking any action or implementing any plan suggested or recommended in this article.