“We started studying this system three years ago. We went to several countries including Japan, South Korea and others in Europe to study the pros and cons of an insurance scheme for employees,” said Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem.

“We briefed the National Economic Council four times before we took it to the cabinet, not once, but twice.

“This shows that we are serious about our plans to implement the scheme, but we do not want to do it in a rushed manner. We will table the bill during the next Dewan Rakyat sitting, which is either in June or July.”

He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) representatives here today.

The 20 representatives in the meeting with Riot, also handed a bag of 20,000 signed cards calling for the EIS to be implemented immediately.

The representatives, along with almost 100 others from several employee groups gathered outside Parliament building earlier this morning to protest the delay in implementing the EIS.

Riot however called for patience, reassuring the protestors that the EIS would be implemented in due course.

“We are not messing around. And we hope all MPs, from both sides of the divide, will support the government’s effort which we believe is important to protect the interests of workers.”

He also said that the government had allocated RM52 million for the EIS. The funds were already pumped into the coffers of the Social Security Organisation (Socso), added Riot.

Last week, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the EIS was expected to benefit 6.5 million local employees in the private sector.

It is planned to be implemented by Jan 1 next year, with payouts by Jan 1, 2019.