If you got hurt on a Saturday hike or slipped in your own kitchen before 1 June 2026, Perkeso would not have been able to help you, regardless of how long you had been contributing. That changed this month, with an update that widens how and when your Perkeso protection applies to you.

Human resources minister R Ramanan said annual Perkeso claims could rise by as much as 200% from the usual 170,000 cases a year, a projection he shared at the opening of the Sultan Nazrin Shah Perkeso Rehabilitation Centre in Meru Raya, Perak. Malaysians have not suddenly become more accident-prone. The number of people who now qualify to claim is much larger than a year ago. 

Lindung 24 Jam Covers You Outside Work Hours

Lindung 24 Jam took effect on 1 June 2026. Before this, your Perkeso protection switched off the moment you left the office. Now, if you are one of the more than nine million formal sector employees automatically enrolled, an accident at home, on a weekend trip, or during a workout can be covered too, funded through a small payroll deduction.

Cover is for more than a one-off payout. A qualifying claim under Lindung 24 Jam includes free medical treatment at Perkeso panel clinics or government hospitals, monthly income replacement if the injury keeps you from working, and dependants’ benefits for your family if the worst happens. Without it, a serious accident outside work hours could mean paying for treatment yourself and going without income while you recover, on top of the injury itself.

The Gig Workers Act Closes A Long-Standing Gap

If you drive for an e-hailing app or deliver food for a living, you got a similar upgrade. Registration for Perkeso protection used to be voluntary, which left one of the groups most exposed to road accidents without consistent cover. The Gig Workers Act 2025 closes that gap by making contributions mandatory and deducting them automatically through the platform you work for, so coverage no longer depends on signing up.

A Traveller Scheme Is Still Being Worked Out

A third scheme is still being worked out, and it could matter most of all if you commute daily into Singapore for work, as roughly 400,000 Malaysians do. The Traveller Scheme is meant to extend Perkeso-style protection to that group, though nothing about its terms or timeline has been confirmed.

Ramanan shared these figures at the opening of the Sultan Nazrin Shah Perkeso Rehabilitation Centre in Meru Raya, Perak, a facility Perkeso describes as the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia and built partly to handle the bigger caseload these schemes are expected to bring.

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Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.

About THE AUTHOR

Christina Chandra

Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister's cats.

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