Monday August 11, 2008
Counsellors appointed to weed out middlemen
By M. KRISHNAMOORTHY
KUALA LUMPUR: The days of middlemen who charged up to 30% commission to help Social Security Organisation (Socso) contributors to make claims are numbered.
Socso now wants contributors to deal with it directly through counsellors who have been placed at its head office here and branches in Petaling Jaya, Ipoh, Penang, Seremban and Johor Baru.
It has also set up the Anti-Fraud Unit to check on false claims, particularly the abuse of its disability pension schemes.
The counsellors, who are fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and several Chinese dialects, will tell contributors how to apply for social protection via Socso's Employment Injury Insurance and Invalidity Pension Schemes.
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.
Socso also discovered that about 300 invalidity pension beneficiaries were working again, which is a violation of the Socso Act.
Two years ago, the Human Resources Ministry warned contributors not to use a company in Shah Alam, claiming to act on behalf of Socso, which offered to act as a middleman to obtain payments.
Contributors were asked to pay RM50 to become members.
The middlemen or agents would charge up to 30% in commission by making claims on behalf of the contributors, mostly from the lower income group who are not well versed with procedures.
There have also been complaints that they filed false claims for Socso members and used fake medical reports to get invalidity pensions approved.
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.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam urged those applying for Socso claims to go direct to the department.
MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said the unit would definitely improve Socso's delivery system and reduce or eliminate the abuse of the pension schemes.
For more information on Socso, go to www.perkeso.gov.my or call 03 4257 5755.
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