Workmen'S Compensation Act 1952 · Updated to 22 Jul 1982 · Part II · Workmen’S Compensation for Injury
10. Distribution of compensation
Feedback & supportNo payment of compensation in respect of a workman whose injury has resulted in death, and no payment of a lump sum as compensation to a woman or to a minor, shall be made otherwise than by deposit with the Commissioner, and any such payment made directly to any dependant of a deceased workman or to any woman or minor shall be deemed not to be a payment of compensation for the purposes of this Act.
workman
“workman”, subject to the proviso to this subsection, means any person who has, either before or after the commencement of this Act, entered into or works under a contract of service or of apprenticeship with an employer, whether by way of manual labour or otherwise, whether the contract is expressed or implied or is oral or in writing, whether the remuneration is calculated by time or by work done and whether by the day, week, month or any longer period: Provided that the following persons are excepted from the definition of “workman”— (a) any person employed otherwise than by way of manual labour whose earnings, calculated in accordance with section 9, exceed five hundred ringgit a month; (b) a person whose employment is of casual nature and who is employed otherwise than for the purposes of the employer’s trade or business, not being a person employed for the purposes of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club; (c) a domestic servant; (d) any person who is a member of the armed forces or of any visiting force lawfully present in Malaysia; (e) any person in the civil employment of Her Britannic Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, or in any other country of the Commonwealth whose contract of service was not made in Malaysia nor in Singapore; (f) a person employed, or selected for employment, in a civil capacity by the Government of Malaysia or by the Government of any State or by any local authority before 1 April 1953 in the application of this Act in Peninsular Malaysia, and before 1 January 1957 in the application of this Act in Sarawak where, in consequence of injury received by any such person in the discharge of his duties, a pension, gratuity or other allowance which would not be payable if such injury were received otherwise is paid to him or, in the case of his death, to any of his dependants as defined in this Act under any written law for the time being in force in Malaysia or any part thereof providing for the grant of such pension, gratuity or other allowance (this paragraph shall not apply in Sabah); (g) any police officer, and any other person engaged to perform police duties in accordance with the provisions of any written law while so performing such duties; (h) an out-worker; (i) a tributer; (j) any member of the family of the employer who dwells with him in his house; *(k) any class of persons whom the Minister may declare not to be workmen for the purposes of this Act. *NOTE—see P.U.…
Any other money which is payable as compensation may, and where the person to whom it is payable so requests shall, be deposited with the Commissioner.
Commissioner
“Commissioner” means— (a) in relation to Peninsular Malaysia, the Director General of Labour and all Deputy Directors General of Labour, State Directors of Labour and Assistant State Directors of Labour appointed under the Employment Act 1955 and includes such Labour Officers appointed under the said Act as the Minister may declare to be vested with all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed upon the Commissioner by this Act; (b) *in relation to Sabah, the Director of Labour appointed under the Labour Ordinance of Sabah and includes a Deputy Director, an Assistant Director and any Labour Officer appointed under the said Ordinance whom the Minister may declare to be vested with all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed upon the Commissioner under this Act; (c) in relation to Sarawak, the Commissioner of Labour appointed under the Labour Ordinance of Sarawak and includes a Deputy Commissioner, an Assistant Commissioner and any Labour Officer appointed under the said Ordinance whom the Minister may declare to be vested with all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed upon the Commissioner under this Act;
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Workmen’s Compensation
The receipt of the Commissioner shall be a sufficient discharge for any compensation deposited with him.
On the deposit of any money under subsection (1) as compensation in respect of an accident resulting in the death of a workman, the Commissioner may deduct there from the actual amount of the expenses of the funeral of the workman or one thousand ringgit, whichever is the less, and may pay the same to the person by whom such expenses were incurred.
The Commissioner shall make such inquiry under section 27 as he may deem necessary to determine the number of dependants of a deceased workman and the extent to which they were dependent upon him, and may in respect of any dependant or alleged dependant not being within Malaysia accept as evidence the certificate of a competent authority holding an equivalent position appointed under any law relating to workmen’s compensation in force in the country or territory in which such dependant or alleged dependant resides:
dependant
“dependant” means any member of the family of a deceased workman who wholly or in part depended upon his earnings at the time of his death or would but for the disablement due to the accident have been so dependent: Provided that a person shall not be deemed to be a partial dependant of another person unless he was dependant partially on contributions from that other person for the provision of the ordinary necessities of life; *NOTE—For modification to Federal Territory of Labuan–see P.U.…
Provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent the
Commissioner from taking into consideration any other evidence as to the existence of dependants and the extent of dependence.
Compensation deposited in respect of an accident resulting in the death of a workman shall, subject to any deduction made under subsection (4), be apportioned among the dependants of the deceased workman or any of them in such proportion as the
Commissioner thinks fit, or may, in the discretion of the
Commissioner, be allotted to any one dependant.
Where any lump sum deposited with the Commissioner is payable to a woman or to a minor or other person under a legal disability, or where any lump sum has been deposited with the
Commissioner at the request of the person to whom it is payable, such sum may be invested, applied or otherwise dealt with for the benefit of the woman or of such minor or of such other person during his disability or of the person at whose request the said sum was so deposited, as the case may be, in such manner as the
Commissioner may direct.
Where a half-monthly payment is payable to any workman under a legal disability the Commissioner may, of his own motion or on application made to him in that behalf, order that the payment
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be made during the disability to any dependant of the workman or to any other person whom the Commissioner thinks best fitted to provide for the welfare of the workman.
In all other cases compensation whether or not deposited with the Commissioner shall be paid to the person entitled thereto.
If the Commissioner is satisfied after such inquiry as he may deem necessary that no dependant of a deceased workman exists or can be traced and the circumstances are such that there is no reasonable likelihood that any dependant can be traced he shall repay the balance of the money deposited with him under subsection (1) to the person by whom it was deposited.
The Commissioner shall, on application by the employer, furnish a statement showing in detail all disbursements made.
employer
“employer” includes the Government of Malaysia and the Governments of each of the States; in respect of civilian employees engaged in Malaysia or in Singapore of any visiting force lawfully present in Malaysia or of any person in the civil employment of the Government of any Commonwealth country, whose contract of service was made in Malaysia or in Singapore, the Government of that Commonwealth country; any local authority; any person or body of persons whether statutory or incorporated or not; the legal personal representative of a deceased employer; and in relation to a person employed for the purpose of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club, the manager or members of the managing committee of the said club: Provided that where the services of a workman are temporarily lent or let on hire to another person by the person with whom the workman has entered into a contract of service or apprenticeship, the latter shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to continue to be the employer of the workman whilst he is working for that other person;
Where after inquiry made of his own motion or on application made to him the Commissioner is satisfied that, because of neglect of children on the part of a parent, or of the death or a change in the circumstances of any dependant, or for any other sufficient cause, an order of the Commissioner as to the distribution of any sum paid as compensation or as to the manner in which any sum payable to any such dependant is to be invested, applied or otherwise dealt with, ought to be varied, the Commissioner may make such orders for the variation of that order as he thinks just in the circumstances of the case:
Provided that no such order prejudicial to any person shall be made unless such person has been given an opportunity of showing cause why the order should not be made, or shall in any case involve the repayment by a dependant of any sum already paid to him.
Any party aggrieved by any order or decision of the
Commissioner under this section may, at any time within fourteen days of the communication to him of such order or decision, apply to the Arbitrator to vary such order or decision.
Arbitrator
“Arbitrator” means a person appointed by the Minister to be an arbitrator for workmen’s compensation for such area as may be specified in that appointment;