Topic
#explainer
2 articles
The 1.25% Coming Out of Every Job: What the Gig Workers Act Actually Gives Malaysian Riders and Drivers
Since the Gig Workers Act 2025 came into force on 31 March 2026, platforms in Malaysia have been deducting 1.25 per cent of every completed job from riders and drivers and paying it to PERKESO. Most people affected know the deduction is there. Far fewer know what it buys — or that the same Act gives them rights that have nothing to do with money. We read PERKESO's own FAQ, issued the day the Act took effect, and the Bill text tabled in the Dewan Rakyat. The deduction funds Plan 1 of the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme at RM157.20 a year, which covers free treatment at government hospitals, 80 per cent of insured income during sick leave from a work accident, RM500 a month if you need constant care and a RM3,000 funeral benefit. The provisions almost nobody talks about are elsewhere: a platform can suspend your account for a maximum of 14 days while it investigates, must tell you in writing, and if it finds no reason to deactivate you it must reinstate you and pay half your average daily income for the days you were locked out. Here is the full picture, with the figures.
The New MyKad Is Here: Issued Since 17 September, Same Day at 40 JPN and UTC Offices, RM10 to Switch, No Touch 'n Go — and Losing Yours Twice Still Costs RM310
Updated 1 October 2026: the new-generation MyKad is finally in people's hands. JPN unveiled what it calls the seventh-generation identity card on 16 September and has issued it in stages since 17 September — on the same day at 40 JPN and UTC offices with their own printing centres, and in about five working days at every other branch. Nobody is being forced to switch: JPN's own FAQ says existing holders need not change just because a new card exists, and advises a change only for KPP, KPT and MyKad without a ghost image. If you do switch, it costs RM10. The new card carries 53 security features against the old card's 23, and it drops one feature Malaysians have used for two decades: it is not a Touch 'n Go card. Lost-card fees on JPN's own pages are unchanged at RM110, RM310 and RM1,010. Below: the 40 same-day offices state by state, who should go and who should not bother, the online replacement portal that now needs MyDigital ID, and how the June-to-August stretch when nobody had the card actually played out.