World Bank urges Malaysia to strengthen social protection in Budget 2027, including better benefits, gig worker coverage and support for seniors
KUALA LUMPUR: Strengthening Malaysia’s social protection system should remain a key priority in Budget 2027, including improving benefits adequacy, expanding coverage to gig workers and enhancing support for the elderly, according to the World Bank.
Lead economist for Malaysia Apurva Sanghi said the government has done well in expanding and scaling up social assistance programmes, but noted gaps in adequacy.
“Kudos to the government for expanding and scaling up to be immensely successful. But there is an adequacy issue in the sense that existing benefits. I think gig workers are still excluded from unemployment protection and the employment insurance system,” he told a media briefing on the World Bank October 2026 East Asia-Pacific Economic Update today.
He said expanding coverage to include gig workers could be considered, potentially with some form of government matching mechanism. In addition, Apurva said Malaysia is a super ageing nation, but he noted that social protection does not cover older people well enough.
He noted that many senior citizens do not have sufficient support, pointing out that the non-contributory social pension scheme currently reaches only about four per cent of those aged 60 and above. “So scaling up social protection for older people would be good to see,” he added.
However, he stressed that these are recommendations shared during a briefing and may not necessarily be adopted in the budget.
