Workmen'S Compensation Act 1952 · Updated to 22 Jul 1982 · Part II · Workmen’S Compensation for Injury
14. Medical examination and treatment
Feedback & supportWhen notice of an accident has been given to an employer by a workman or by the Commissioner on the workman’s behalf the employer may offer to have the workman examined, free of charge to the workman, by a registered medical practitioner, and the workman shall as soon as possible submit himself for such examination; and any workman who is in receipt of a half-monthly payment under this Act shall, if so required, submit himself for such examination from time to time:
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;
Provided that no workman shall be required to submit himself for such examination otherwise than in accordance with Regulations made under 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.…
If a workman, on being required to do so by the employer under subsection (1), or by the Commissioner, or by an Arbitrator, at any time refuses to submit himself for examination by a registered medical practitioner whose services have been offered to him by the employer free of charge, or in any way obstructs the same, his right to compensation shall be suspended during the continuance of such refusal or obstruction.
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;
If a workman having been so required, and before the expiry of the period within which he is liable under subsection (1), to submit himself for medical examination, voluntarily leaves, without having been so examined, the place at which he was residing at the time of the accident, his right to compensation shall be suspended until he notifies his employer of his new address and offers himself for such examination.
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Where a workman, whose right to compensation has been suspended under subsection (2) or (3), dies without having submitted himself for medical examination as required by those subsections, the Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, direct the payment of compensation to the dependants of the deceased workman.
Where under subsection (2) or (3) a right to compensation is suspended, no compensation shall be payable in respect of the period of suspension, and, if the period of suspension commences before the expiry of the waiting period referred to in paragraph 4(2)(a), the waiting period shall be increased by the period during which the suspension continues.
Where an injured workman has refused to be treated by a registered medical practitioner whose services have been offered to him by the employer free of charge or, having accepted such offer, has failed to carry out or deliberately disregarded the instructions for his treatment of such medical practitioner, then—
registered medical practitioner
“registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered or exempted from registration under any written law relating to the registration of medical practitioners from time to time in force in Malaysia or any part thereof;
where the workman is in receipt of half-monthly payments under the provisions of this Act, the Commissioner may order the suspension of such half-monthly payments until such workman accepts such treatment or has carried out such instructions, and may further, where he is satisfied that the duration of the workman’s disability has been prolonged by such refusal, failure or disregard, order the restriction of the period of such half-monthly payments to such period, calculated from the date of injury, as the disability of the workman might reasonably have been expected to have lasted for, had he accepted treatment and followed instructions; or
where the workman has suffered permanent disablement and the Commissioner is satisfied that such disablement has been aggravated by such refusal, failure or disregard the Commissioner may order that compensation be paid to the workman appropriate to such disablement as he might reasonably have been expected to have suffered if he had been regularly treated by a registered medical practitioner.