Constitution of Social Security Appellate Board
(1) The Minister shall, by notification in the Gazette constitute a Social Security Appellate Board (referred to as “the Board” in this Part) for such State or area as may be specified in the notification.
(2) The Board shall consist of a Chairman and two assessors.
(3) A person shall be qualified for appointment as Chairman of the Board if—
(a) he is a citizen; and
(b) for ten years preceding his appointment he has been a member of the Judicial and Legal Service of the Federation or an advocate and solicitor of the High Courts in Malaysia.
(4) The Chairman shall be appointed by the Minister on such terms and conditions as may be specified by him.
(5) The two assessors shall represent employers and employees and shall be selected by the Chairman from the panel of persons appointed under subsection (6).
(6) The Minister shall, after consultation with such organizations representing employers and employees respectively as he thinks fit, appoint a panel of such number of persons as he deems appropriate to serve as assessors.
(7) (Deleted by Act A1232).
(8) (Deleted by Act A1232).
Matters to be decided by the Board
(1) If any question or dispute arises as to—
(a) whether any person is an employee within the meaning of this Act or whether he is liable to pay the employee’s contribution;
(b) the rate of wages or average daily wages of an employee for the purposes of this Act;
(c) the rate of contribution payable by a principal employer in respect of any employee;
(d) a person who is or was the principal employer in respect of any employee;
(e) the right of any person to any benefit and as to amount and duration of it;
(f) any direction issued by the Organization under sections 35 and 36 on a review of any payment of invalidity pension or dependants’ benefits or survivors’ pension respectively; or
(g) (Deleted by Act A590);
(h) any other matter which is in dispute between a principal employer and the Organization, or between a principal employer and an immediate employer, or between a person and the Organization or between an employee and a principal or immediate employer, in respect of any contribution or benefit or other dues payable or recoverable under this Act, or any other matter required to be or which may be decided by the Board under this Act, such question or dispute subject to subsection (3) shall be decided by the Board in accordance with this Act.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the following claims shall be decided by the Board, namely:
(a) claim for the recovery of contributions from the principal employer;
(b) claim by a principal employer to recover contributions from any immediate employer;
(c) (Deleted by Act A590);
(d) claim against a principal employer under section 48;
(e) claim under section 50 for the recovery of the value of amount or the benefits received by a person when he is not lawfully entitled thereto; and
(f) any claim for the recovery of any benefit admissible under this Act.
(3) If in any proceedings before the Board an invalidity or disablement question arises and the decision of a medical board or appellate medical board has not been obtained on the same and the decision of such question is necessary for the determination of the claim or question before the Board, the Board shall direct the Organization to have the question decided by this Act and shall thereafter proceed with the determination of the claim or question before it in accordance with the decision of the medical board or the appellate medical board.
(4) No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to decide or deal with any question or dispute mentioned in subsections (1) and (2) or to adjudicate on any liability which, by or under this Act, is to be decided by the Board.
(5) No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to decide or deal with any question or dispute which, by or under this Act, is to be decided by a medical board or by an appellate medical board.
Institution of proceedings, etc.
(1) Subject to this Act and any regulations made thereunder, all proceedings before the Board shall be instituted in the Board appointed for the area in which the insured person was working at the time the question or dispute arose.
(2) The Minister may transfer any matter pending before any Board in a State or area to any such Board in another State or area.
(3) The Board to which any matter is transferred under subsection (2) shall continue the proceedings as if they had been originally instituted in it.
Commencement of proceedings
(1) The proceedings before a Board shall be commenced by application.
(2) Every such application shall be made within a period of three years from the date on which the cause of action arose.
(3) For the purpose of subsection (2)—
(a) the cause of action in respect of a claim for benefit shall not be deemed to arise unless the insured person or in the case of dependants’ benefit or survivors’ pension, the dependants of the insured person or, in the case of funeral benefit, the claimant, claims or claim that benefit in accordance with the regulations made in that behalf within a period of twelve months after the claim became due or within such further period as the Board may allow on grounds which appear to it to be reasonable;
(b) the cause of action in respect of a claim by the Organization for recovering contributions from the principal employer or a claim by the principal employer for recovering contributions from an immediate employer shall not be deemed to arise till the date by which the evidence of contributions having been paid is due to be received by the Organization under the regulations;
(c) every such application shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars and shall be accompanied by such fee, if any, as may be prescribed by the regulations.
Powers of Social Security Appellate Board
(1) The Board shall have all the powers of a Sessions Court Judge for the purposes of summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents and material objects, administering oath and recording evidence.
(2) The Board shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed by regulations.
(3) All costs incidental to any proceedings before a Board, shall, subject to such regulations as may be made in this behalf, be in the discretion of the Board.
(4) An order of the Board shall be enforceable as if it were a judgment of a Sessions Court notwithstanding that the same may
be in respect of an amount in excess of the ordinary jurisdiction of the said Court.
Appearance by legal practitioners, etc.
Any application, appearance or act required to be made or done by any person to or before a Board (other than appearance of a person required for the purposes of his examination as a witness) may be made or done by a legal practitioner or by an officer of a registered trade union authorized in writing by such person or with the permission of the Board, by any other person so authorized.
Benefit not admissible unless claimed in time
A Board shall not direct the payment of any benefit to a person unless he has made a claim for such benefit in accordance with the regulations made in that behalf and section 86:
Provided that if the Board is satisfied that there was reasonable excuse for not making a claim for the benefit within the prescribed period, it may direct the payment of the benefit as if the claim had been made in time.
Reference to High Court
A Board may submit any question of law for the decision of the High Court and if it does so shall decide the question pending before it in accordance with such decision.
Appeal
(1) Save as expressly provided in this section, no appeal shall lie from an order of the appellate boards set up by or under this Act.
(2) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from an order of an appellate board set up by or under this Act if it involves a substantial question of law.
(3) The period of limitation for an appeal under this section shall be sixty days from the date the order is made.
Stay of payment pending appeal
Where the Organization has presented an appeal against an order of the Board, that Board may, and if so directed by the High Court shall, pending the decision of the appeal, withhold the payment of any sum directed to be paid by the order appealed against.
P ART VI PENALTIES
Punishment for false information
Where any person, for the purpose of causing any increase in payment or benefit under this Act, or for the purpose of causing any payment or benefit to be made where no payment or benefit is authorized by or under this Act, or for the purpose of avoiding any payment to be made by himself under this Act, or enabling any other person to avoid any such payment—
(a) makes or causes to be made any false statement or false representation; or
(b) makes in writing or signs any declaration, form, report, certificate or other document required by this Act or any regulations made thereunder which is untrue or incorrect in any material particular,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit, or with both.
Punishment for failure to pay contributions, etc.
If any person—
(a) fails to pay any contribution or any part thereof which is payable by him under this Act or fails to pay within the time prescribed by regulations any interest payable under section 14A;
(b) deducts or attempts to deduct from the wages of an employee the whole or any part of the employer’s contribution;
(c) in contravention of section 52 reduces the wages or any privileges or benefits admissible to an employee;
(d) in contravention of section 53 or any regulation dismisses, discharges, reduces or otherwise punishes an employee;
(e) fails or refuses to submit any return or accident report required by the regulations, or makes a false return or report;
(f) obstructs any Inspector or other official of the Organization in the discharge of his duties; or
(g) is guilty of any contravention of or non-compliance with any of the requirements of this Act or the rules or the regulations in respect of which no special penalty is provided,
he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit, or with both.
Court’s order in respect of contributions due and payable to the Organization
(1) Upon any person being found guilty of any offence under paragraph 94(a), the Court before which the person is found guilty shall order such person to pay to the Organization the amount of any contributions, together with any interest credited on it, due and payable to the Organization and certified by the authorized officer of the Organization to be due from such person prior to the date of such finding of guilt, and the certificate of the authorized officer shall be prima facie evidence of the amount due and payable.
(2) Such contributions shall be recoverable in the same manner as, and shall be appealable as if it were, an order for payment of compensation under section 426 of the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593], except that where the Court directs payment of the sum to be made by instalments, the Court shall direct that the sum be paid in not more than six instalments.
(3) Upon any person being found guilty of any offence under paragraph 94(e) pertaining to the submission of an accident report, the Court before which the person is found guilty shall
order such person to submit the required accident report within the time to be determined by the Court.
Trial for more than one offence
Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, any person may be charged with and tried at any one trial for any number of offences under paragraph 94(a) not exceeding thirty-six and such offences shall, for the purposes of the law for the time being in force relating to criminal procedure, be deemed to form part of the same transaction.
Copy of entry to be prima facie evidence
In any legal proceeding, a copy of an entry in the accounts of the Organization duly certified under the hand of an authorized officer of the Organization shall be prima facie evidence of such entry having been made and of the truth of the contents thereof.
Prosecution
(1) No prosecution shall be instituted for an offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act except by or with the consent in writing of the Public Prosecutor.
(2) (Deleted by Act A1232).
(3) (Deleted by Act A675).
Compounding of offences
(1) The Director General or any officer authorized in writing by the Dirtector General may compound any offence committed by any person under this Act or the regulations made under this Act and prescribed by the Minister to be a compoundable offence by regulations made under this Act by making a written offer to the person suspected to have committed the offence to compound the offence upon payment to the Director General of an amount of money not exceeding fifty percent of the amount of maximum fine for that offence within the time specified in the offer.
(2) An offer under subsection (1) may be made at any time after the offence has been committed, but before any prosecution for it has been instituted, and if the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the time specified in the offer or within such extended period as the Director General may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the offer was made.
(3) If an offence has been compounded under subsection (1), no prosecution shall be instituted in respect of the offence against the person to whom the offer to compound was made and any thing seized in connection with the offence may be released or forfeited by the Director General, subject to such terms and conditions as he thinks fit.
P ART VII MISCELLANEOUS
Insured person not entitled to more than one benefit
(1) An insured person shall not be allowed to receive, for the same period and in respect of the same disablement, invalidity pension and permanent disablement benefit.
(2) Where a person is entitled to both benefits, he may choose which benefit he shall receive for that period.
Dependant not entitled to both survivor’s pension and dependants’ benefit for the same period
(1) A dependant shall not be allowed to receive, for the same period in respect of the same insured person, survivors’ pension and dependants’ benefit.
(2) Where a dependant is entitled to both survivors’ pension and dependants’ benefit, he may choose to receive the benefit which is payable at the higher rate.
Exemption of industry or class of industries
The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the notification, exempt any industry or class of industries in any specified area from the
operation of this Act for a period not exceeding one year and may from time to time by like notification renew any such exemption, for periods not exceeding one year at a time.
Exemption of persons or class of persons
The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette and subject to such conditions as he may deem fit to impose, exempt any person or class of persons employed in any industry or class of industries to which this Act applies from the operation of the Act.
Organization to make representation
No exemption shall be granted or renewed under sections 97 and 98, unless a reasonable opportunity has been given to the Organization to make any representation it may wish to make in regard to the proposal and such representation has been considered by the Minister.
Exemption of industries belonging to Government or local authority
The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the notification, exempt any industry or class of industries belonging to the Federal Government or any State Government or any local authority or statutory authority, from the operation of this Act, if the employees in any such industry or class of industries are otherwise in receipt of benefits substantially similar or superior to the benefits provided under this Act.
Exemption from one or more provisions of the Act
The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, exempt any employee or class of employees in any industry or class of industries from one or more of the provisions relating to the benefits provided under this Act.
Contributions, etc., due to Organization to have priority over other debts
There shall be deemed to be included among the debts which, under any written law relating to insolvency in force in the
country, are in the distribution of the property of the insolvent or in the distribution of the assets of a company being wound up, to be paid in priority to all other debts, the amount due in respect of any contribution or any other amount payable under this Act the liability wherefor accrued before the date of the order of adjudication of the insolvent or the date of the winding up.
Exercise of powers and functions of the Organization
All powers and functions which may be exercised by the Organization under this Act shall be exercised by the Director General or by any officer of the Organization authorized by him or by an authority authorized by the Minister.
Disposal of documents after more than three years
(1) The Director General may authorize any paper-based document belonging to the Organization to be copied onto an electronic medium by such means as to ensure that the exact image of that document is capable of being viewed, reproduced and copied.
(2) Where a paper-based document has been copied in accordance with subsection (1), the Director General may authorize the disposal of the paper-based document after the expiry of a period of three years from the making of such electronic copy.
(3) A copy of the document kept on an electronic medium in accordance with subsection (1) shall be admissible as evidence of any fact stated in it in accordance with section 90 A of the Evidence Act 1950 [Act 56].
(Deleted by Act 478).
Power of the Minister to make regulations
(1) The Minister may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for the administration of the affairs of the Organization and for carrying into effect this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely—
(i) (Deleted by Act A675);
(ii) (Deleted by Act A675);
(iii) the manner in which any contribution payable under this Act shall be assessed and collected;
(iv) the levy of interest at a rate not less than six per cent per annum on contributions due but not paid subject to the minimum of five ringgit in respect of each month or part of a month in default beyond the due date and the conditions under which such levy may be waived;
(v) the interest payable in respect of the amount payable towards invalidity grants;
(vi) reckoning of wages for the purpose of fixing the contribution payable under this Act;
(vii) the certification of disability and eligibility for any cash benefit;
(viii) the method of determining the actuarial present value of periodical payments;
(ix) the assessing of the money value of any benefit which is not a cash benefit;
(x) the time within which and the form in which any claim for a benefit may be made and the particulars to be specified in such claims;
(xi) the circumstances in which an employee in receipt of disablement benefit may be dismissed, discharged, reduced or otherwise punished;
(xii) the manner in which and the place and time at which any benefit shall be paid;
(xiii) the method of calculating the amount of cash benefit payable and the circumstances in which and the extent to which commutation of disablement and dependants’ benefits, may be allowed and the method of calculating the commutation value;
(xiv) the conditions under which any benefit may be suspended;
(xv) the conditions to be observed by a person when in receipt of any benefit and the periodical medical examination of such persons;
(xvi) the visiting of disabled persons;
(xvii) the appointment of medical practitioners for the purpose of this Act, the duties of such practitioners and the form of medical certificates;
(xviii) the penalties for breach of regulations by fine (not exceeding two days’ wages for a first breach and not exceeding three days’ wages for any subsequent breach) which may be imposed on employees;
(xix) the circumstances in which and the conditions subject to which any regulations may be relaxed, the extent of such relaxation and the authority by whom such relaxation may be granted;
(xx) the returns and reports to be submitted and the registers or records to be maintained by the principal and immediate employers, the forms of such returns, reports, registers or records and the times at which such returns and reports be submitted and the particulars which such returns, registers and records shall contain;
(xxa) offence which may be compounded and the procedure for compounding offences;
(xxi) the duties and powers of Inspectors and other officers and servants of the Organization; (xxia) the constitution of medical boards, including the Special Medical Board;
(xxii) the constitution of the Social Security Appellate Boards and Appellate Medical Boards, the qualifications of persons who may be appointed chairman and members thereof, and the conditions of service of such chairman and members;
(xxiii) the procedure to be followed in proceedings before the Social Security Appellate Boards and Appellate Medical Boards and the execution of decisions by such Appellate Boards;
(xxiv) the fee payable in respect of applications made to the Social Security Appellate Boards, the cost incidental to the proceedings in such boards, form in which applications should be made to them and the particulars to be specified in such applications;
(xxv) the establishment of hospitals, dispensaries and other institutions, the allotment of insured persons to any such hospital, dispensary or other institution in consultation with the Ministry of Health;
(xxvi) the scale of medical benefit which shall be provided at any hospital, clinic, dispensary or institution, the keeping of medical records and the furnishing of statistical returns;
(xxvii) the nature and extent of the staff, equipment and medicines that shall be provided at such hospitals, dispensaries and institutions;
(xxviii) the procedure to be followed in remitting contributions to the Organization;
(xxix) the registration of industries;
(xxx) matters which must be covered by the periodical valuation of the assets and liabilities of the Organization;
(xxxi) the investment of the Social Security Fund and its transfer or realisation, the bank or banks in which the funds of the Organization may be deposited, the raising and repayment of loans and financial control and procedures in consultation with the Minister of Finance; (xxxia) the imposition of a fee or a charge for providing any information or document which is in the custody of the Organization; and
(xxxii) any matter in respect of which regulations are required or permitted to be made by this Act.
Duty of Board to review benefits
Without prejudice to section 59I, when substantial changes in the general level of earnings result from substantial changes in the cost of living, the Board shall examine the situation on the basis of an actuarial valuation made under section 82 and shall make recommendations to the Minister to adjust the Scheme of Social Insurance in order to maintain the real value of certain cash benefits. The recommendations of the Board, which shall be accompanied by the actuarial report and shall take account of Government social policy, may include—
(a) proposals for a new scale of wage classes and of contributions;
(b) proposals for changes in the rates of specified cash benefits including the rates of pensions already in payment; and
(c) extension of benefits.
Rates of benefit
The rates of benefits as stipulated in sections 20, 20A , 30 and in the Fourth Schedule shall apply to all benefit cases in payment as at the date of coming into force of these rates:
Provided that any benefits and additions to benefits already provided by law shall be deducted from the new recomputed rates as provided by those sections:
And provided further that this section shall not affect any case where the benefit already paid is more than the new recomputed rates:
And provided further that in the case where the insured person who is in receipt of invalidity pension dies before 1 February 1986, the amount of the monthly rate of invalidity pension for the purposes of survivors’ pension under section 20A shall be the amount the deceased insured person is entitled to had he been alive in the month of January 1986.
Addition of benefits
Any other benefits may be added to the benefits provided by this Act, subject to such scale and terms and conditions as may be provided by law; and such law shall form part of this Act.
Power to remove difficulties
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to this Act, the Minister of Human Resources or the Minister of Finance, may, by order published in the Gazette, make such provisions or give such directions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to him to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.
(2) Any order made under this section shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith in any regulations made under this Act.
Joint and several liability of directors
Where any sum of money by way of contributions together with any interest due thereon remain unpaid by a company, a firm or an association of persons, then, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act or any other written law, the directors of such company including any person who was a director of such company during the period in which the contributions were payable, or a member of such firm including any person who was a member of the firm during the period in which the contributions were payable or the office-bearers of such association of persons, including any person who was an office-bearer of such association during the period in which the contributions were payable, shall together with the company, firm or association of persons be jointly and severally liable for the contributions together with interest due and payable thereon to the Organization.
Recovery of contribution, etc.
Without prejudice to any other method of recovery of contribution or other sum payable or recoverable under the provisions of this Act, any debt due to the Organization may be recoverable as if it is an arrear of land rent or an arrear of a sum payable to a local authority:
Provided that this section shall not become operative in a State until adopted by the Legislature of that State.
Powers of Director General
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Director General and such other officers of the Organization as may be authorized by him in this behalf shall have all the powers of a Sessions Court Judge for the summoning and examination of employers, insured persons, witnesses and other persons and the administration of oaths or affirmations and for compelling the production of documents and material objects.
(2) Any person who in any way wilfully obstructs the service of or obedience to any summons and any person summoned who neglects to attend and to produce documents as required in such summons shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit, or to both.
(3) The Director General or such other officer authorized by him shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code.
Organization to deal with authorized person
(1) In all matters pertaining to benefits under this Act, the Organization may deal directly with the insured person or his dependants, or an official of a registered trade union authorized in writing by such insured person or his dependants, or a legal practitioner representing such insured person or his dependants.
(2) The Organization may refuse to entertain any representation made by any other person.
Benefit for two or more successive accidents
(1) Where a person sustains permanent disablement as a result of two or more successive accidents, he shall not for the same period be entitled to receive disablement benefit for permanent disablement in excess of the daily rate for permanent total disablement.
(2) The Minister may make regulations to provide for adjusting the disablement benefit payable in respect of successive accidents or the conditions for the receipt of such benefit in any case where the disablement benefit has been commuted into a lump sum.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
