This is meant to protect professionals who use their voices in their careers such as actors, singers, educators or speakers, said deputy minister Mustapha Sakmud.

He said so far there has been no specific protection policy for the voice in Malaysia.

Mustapha said they had received proposals from several parties, including Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (Aswara), to study a specific protection policy under the Social Security Organisation (Socso) should anything happen to the voices of these people.

“In the US, a voice protection policy is common. In Malaysia, this is still new. We will see if it is suitable to be implemented here,” he said after attending the Suara Nadi Kehidupan programme, held in conjunction with World Voice Day 2023 celebrations.

It was jointly organised by UKM, Aswara and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Mustapha said the results of a study conducted by Universiti Putra Malaysia on primary school teachers in the Klang Valley found that 78% of them experienced vocal discomfort at least once a year.

He said employees with voice-related problems have significant absenteeism issues, a lower quality of life and a higher level of anxiety.

“At Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM, about 30% of patients referred to speech therapists for treatment are professional voice users, that is those who rely on their voices as their source of income.

“Hence, the ministry sees this issue as being very significant,” he said.