Gerakan does not agree with Sosco’s proposal to increase the monthly contributions of employers and employees, saying it will cause additional financial burden on the people.

Gerakan central committee member Dr Hsu Dar Ren said the people were already saddled with increasing cost of living.

“The people’s disposable income is becoming lesser and their actual income has also become almost stagnant. Please don’t ask them to dig deep into their pockets anymore,” he said in a statement.

Dr Hsu added that the people were already feeling the pinch, with lesser subsidy on fuel and sugar and increase in postage charges.

He said since Socso collected RM1.8 billion last year and paid out only RM1.3 billion, it still has a net collection of half a billion ringgit, a big sum of money .Thus, there is no reason to increase Socso’s contribution at this moment.

He urged the government to consider the fact that urban people are facing a real decrease in disposable income. Any form of increase in contribution, no matters how small, will further erode the income of the people.

“We should not directly or directly create a mentality among government departments and civil servants that they can increase charges and contributions, leading to a price increase mentality among the civil servants as well as businessmen, who may seize this opportunity to increase the price of their goods and services,” he said, adding all these would run contrary to 1Malaysia’s concept of People First.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Maznah Mazlan said in Seremban yesterday that employers and workers might have to make higher monthly contributions to Socso if a study by the organisation was accepted by the Government.

Socso, which had not revised its rates since its inception in 1971, has been forced to consider this option as expenditure has ballooned in recent years, she said.

“This is still at a very preliminary stage. The Socso board, the minister and the Cabinet have to endorse this,” she said after handing seven dialysis machines costing RM280,000 to Mawar Renal Medical Centre.