{
  "id": 5491470,
  "title": "MDA ordered to pay Perkeso arrears for ‘contract’ workers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/mda-ordered-to-pay-perkeso-arrears-for-contract-workers-5491470",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-04T03:08:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/04/mda-ordered-to-pay-perkeso-arrears-for-contract-workers"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The High Court has ruled that the Medical Device Authority (MDA) must pay Perkeso's outstanding contributions for workers engaged under contract for service agreements, who are deemed as employees under Section 14 of the Employees' Social Security Act. Perkeso successfully appealed a Social Security Appellate Board's decision in favor of MDA, dismissing their appeal against the August 2018 ruling that Fauzi Idris, an MDA worker, was indeed an employee. As a result, Perkeso now demands that MDA pay RM5,000 in costs and outstanding contributions for other workers with similar employment contracts. The court emphasized that the substance of the contractual relationship, the worker's duties, and the integration of their functions into the employer's business are critical in determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.",
  "summary": "High Court rules that the workers were employees, saying contractual labels cannot override the substance of the relationship.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "MDA ordered to pay Perkeso arrears for ‘contract’ workers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/mda-ordered-to-pay-perkeso-arrears-for-contract-workers",
        "published": "2026-09-04T03:08:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}