LINDUNG 24 Jam Explained: PERKESO's New Accident Scheme

Most people know SOCSO as protection for accidents that happen at work. Since 1 June 2026, there's a genuinely new scheme that extends coverage well beyond that — and because it's this new, a lot of employees and even some employers haven't caught up on what it actually means for their payslip.

What LINDUNG 24 Jam actually covers

LINDUNG 24 Jam — officially Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja (SKBBK), the Non-Employment Injury Scheme — covers accidents that happen outside work and aren't related to your job at all: a road accident on your day off, a fall at home, anything that counts as an accident but isn't a workplace injury (which is already covered separately under the existing Employment Injury Scheme) and isn't an illness. Coverage runs 24 hours a day, every day, for as long as you're an enrolled, employed member — including past age 60, which is different from how standard SOCSO categories change at that age.

The rate is phased, and it's paid entirely by the employee

Unlike SOCSO and EIS, which split contributions between employer and employee, LINDUNG 24 Jam is funded entirely by the employee — the employer's share is RM0. The employee rate is phased in over time: 0.75% of wages for the first two years from launch, rising to 1.0% for the next three years, then 1.25% from year six onward. It uses the same RM6,000 monthly wage ceiling as SOCSO and EIS, so the current Phase 1 contribution tops out at RM45 a month (0.75% of RM6,000) even for higher earners.

Voluntary for citizens and PRs, mandatory for foreign workers

This is the detail that trips people up: for Malaysian citizens and permanent residents, LINDUNG 24 Jam is opt-in — you choose whether to participate, and nothing is deducted unless you do. For non-Malaysian employees, it's mandatory under current rules, deducted automatically like SOCSO's Employment Injury coverage already is for that group. If you're a foreign worker, this isn't something you can decline; if you're a citizen or PR, it genuinely is your call.

What isn't covered

PERKESO explicitly excludes a handful of cases: accidents that happen outside Malaysia, actual workplace injuries (those stay under the existing Employment Injury Scheme), domestic disasters under separate legislation, and anything caused by illness — a diabetic episode or a fever isn't an 'accident' under this scheme's definition, even if it leads to a fall or injury. It's specifically for genuine accidents, not health conditions.

Should you opt in, if you're eligible to choose?

That's a personal decision based on your existing coverage — if you already have personal accident insurance or your employer provides group coverage for non-work accidents, LINDUNG 24 Jam may be redundant. If you have no other accident coverage outside work, RM45 a month (or less, depending on your wage) for genuine 24-hour accident protection is a modest cost relative to the protection. Either way, it's worth actually deciding rather than defaulting into whatever your employer's payroll system happens to be set to.