Compliance

SKBBK (Lindung 24 Jam) now voluntary for local workers, mandatory for foreign workers

By Kay Bin · July 9, 2026 · 3 min read

On 9 July 2026 the Ministry of Human Resources announced that contributions to LINDUNG 24 Jam (SKBBK) are no longer mandatory for local workers. The Cabinet has made the scheme voluntary for local workers, effective immediately, while it stays mandatory for foreign workers.

The short version. Local workers: SKBBK is voluntary from now on. Foreign workers: it stays compulsory, unchanged. PERKESO will publish the mechanism for how voluntary participation works soon, so hold off on payroll changes until it does.

What changed

  • Since 1 June 2026, SKBBK (Skim Kemalangan Bukan Bencana Kerja, the “Lindung 24 Jam” scheme under PERKESO) added a 0.75% employee-borne contribution for SOCSO-covered employees, capped at RM6,000 of wages (a maximum of RM44.65 a month).
  • As of 9 July 2026, the Cabinet has decided this is no longer mandatory for local workers. It becomes voluntary, effective immediately, so local workers choose whether to contribute.
  • It stays mandatory for foreign workers, continuing under existing law.
  • PERKESO will announce the participation mechanism for voluntary contributions by local workers in the near future.
  • KESUMA will review the scheme by the end of the year (policy direction, effectiveness, and fund sustainability), and may table amendments to the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969 (Act 4) in Parliament.

What it means for your payroll

If you run payroll for a Malaysian business, here is the practical picture:

  • Local employees: you are no longer required to deduct SKBBK from them. But wait for PERKESO’s official mechanism before changing anything: the process for opting in or out is not published yet.
  • Foreign employees: nothing changes. Keep contributing SKBBK for them as mandatory.
  • Everything else stays the same. Your SOCSO and EIS contributions are unaffected; this announcement is about SKBBK only.
  • Because this is a fresh decision and the mechanism is still to come, confirm the specifics with PERKESO before adjusting your payroll setup.

What Cloudby is doing about it

Cloudby payroll already handles SKBBK end to end: adding it in the Setup Wizard, enrolling employees, and producing the combined Socso & EIS & SKBBK submission file. Our step-by-step guide to setting up SKBBK walks through it.

We are following PERKESO’s voluntary-participation mechanism. As soon as it is published, we will update Cloudby and the guide so you can apply each local worker’s choice and keep foreign-worker contributions mandatory, cleanly, without editing payslips by hand.

Running payroll in Cloudby and not sure how this affects you? Message us on WhatsApp or email hello@cloudby.co and we will help you through it.

Source: media statement by the Minister of Human Resources, YB Dato’ Sri Ramanan Ramakrishnan, 9 July 2026. This is a developing update; confirm the details with PERKESO before acting on them.