Contributors told to deal directly with Socso
15th October, 2009PUTRAJAYA:
Despite numerous attempts by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) to weed out middlemen from collecting commissions from Socso contributors, there are still cases being reported, said Human Resources Minister, Datuk Dr S.Subramaniam yesterday.
“We want the contributors to deal directly through Socso counsellors who have been placed at the Socso head office (in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur) and branches in Petaling Jaya, Ipoh, Penang, Seremban and Johor Baharu,” he said in a statement.
It was reported that middlemen were charging up to 30 percent commission to help Socso contributors to make claims.
Dr Subramaniam said the counsellors, who were fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and several Chinese dialects, would tell contributors how to apply for social protection via Socso’s Employment Injury Insurance and Invalidity Pension Schemes.
He said the contributors should use the proper channel and not resort to middlemen who only wanted to dupe them into parting with their money.
A Socso official said Socso had previously detected about 500 fraudulent claims by contributors and third parties using false identity cards. In some of the cases, workers and employers colluded to make the claims, he said.
He said the middlemen or agents would charge up to 30 percent in commission by making claims on behalf of the contributors, mostly from the lower income group who are not well versed in the procedures. There had also been complaints that they filed false claims for Socso members and used fake medical reports to get invalidity pensions approved, he said.
He said the middlemen would pick illiterate accident victims at hospitals or wait outside Socso offices to offer their “help” to those not conversant with the laws.
For more information on Socso, please look at the website www.perkeso.gov.my
Share
