Workmen'S Compensation Act 1952 · Updated to 22 Jul 1982 · Part III · The Commissioner and Arbitrators
27. Commissioners to hold inquiries
Feedback & supportIf any question arises under this Act that question shall be settled by agreement between the Commissioner, the workman and the employer and for the purposes of reaching such agreement the Commissioner may hold an inquiry:
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;
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect the right of the Commissioner to make any decision required under section 8,
10, 14 or 15.
38
An application to the Commissioner to settle any question may be made by or on behalf of a workman or the employer and shall contain a concise statement of the circumstances of the accident and of the resulting injury:
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.…
Provided always that where the Commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that an accident has occurred resulting in injury to or the death of any workman he may of his own motion and at any time hold an inquiry to ascertain whether such accident has occurred and whether any workman has been injured and whether any compensation payable under this Act is being paid.
The Commissioner may, before holding any inquiry under this section, require a preliminary investigation to be made by such public officer as he shall appoint in writing in that behalf into the circumstances of any accident resulting in injury to or the death of any workman and for this purpose section 35 shall apply to such officer.
Any public officer appointed under paragraph (a) of this subsection to make a preliminary investigation shall, upon completing the same, forward to the Commissioner the record of such investigation and such record shall form part of the record of the
Commissioner.
The Commissioner may at any time, of his own motion, or on application made by or on behalf of the workman or the employer, reopen any inquiry held by him and may, by agreement with the workman and the employer, confirm, amend, vary or cancel any agreement previously reached.
Section 30 shall apply if agreement is not reached under paragraph (a) of this section.