It's the lack of ambassadorship from the actual working class.
As a GenZ (code name for a young human yet to understand the finer details of government schemes), I didn't really look into or understand the matter with PERKSO's new Lindung 24 Jam scheme. To be very honest, I didn't even realise that it was deducted from my May 2026's payslip until a colleage of mine mentioned it.
When he did, my initial reach was eh, can't be that big of an amount. When he mentioned it was RM45 (which totals to RM540 a year of additional deductions from my already sadly cut salary), my eyes opened in realisation.
Yes, I truly agree that I should be less ignorant and be more in-touch with the latest news on changes in the country that apply to me, as I am now a full-grown adult - that's a fact, but it's not the key message here.
If my colleague didn't mention the deduction from the Lindung 24 Jam scheme, I wouldn't have known, and I wouldn't have bothered to find out more. However, he did mention it - and nod not in a good light.
Connotations were mainly negative, where he laid out his lack of understanding of what the scheme actually covered, due to a lack of available information on PERKESO's website. Whatever it claimed to cover, would already be covered by personal insurance schemes (quite common and known for youngsters especially in the private sector to purchase once they enter the workforce, including myself).
Hence, why on Earth would anyone want to pay an additional RM45 monthly (amount can go even higher based on your income grade) for the Lindung 24 Jam scheme?
It's not that he's not supportive of the scheme - it's just that there's no clear reason for us to take on the scheme. There's nothing additional to gain when we're expected to pay additional. This is the lack of trust from the public towards PERKESO, which has been long standing - even I myself, only know PERKESO from the fact that I have SOCSO cut from my salary monthly. As nothing has happened so far, I don't know how trustable or reliable PERKESO is.
This leads me to seeking advice from more senior colleagues or relatives. Just as this case where my opinion of the Lindung 24 Jam scheme automatically started on a negative note due to my colleague's input, it could have also been positive should my colleague have had full understanding of the scheme, enough to be agreeable to opt-in voluntarily.
Ambassadorship of the scheme from millions of working class would have been strong enough to build a case for PERKESO to push for mandatory opt-in of the Lindung 24 Jam scheme. However, there is a major flaw here where the scheme is pushed out in a haste by a government body to force acceptance first, rather than to educationally inform the applicable individuals and allow them to make an informed choice.
When one is forced to say yes to something they don't fully understand, it's natural to for us to push back - and so we did, which then gave us an option to withdraw from the scheme. Even then, it feels like a trap when once you've chosen to enroll, you can't opt out, and vice versa. Until now, I still feel there is a lack of full information needed for me to make an informed decision.
So if anyone asks me about my outlook on the Lindung 24 Jam scheme - it won't be a positive one. And the cycle continues.
C Chai (crystal.chaijeecheng@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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