Zaliha Yunus, 57, from Kampung Surau Haji Yaakub in Kuala Terengganu, received a cheque for RM106,732.79 as a lump sum payment from a Socso official here yesterday. This included a sum of RM1,500 as funeral expenses, Utusan Malaysia reported.

Zaliha said her husband, Ali Embong, who worked as an assistant surveyor in a private firm, died in 2002 from a bacterial infection.

“When I went to review his Socso status, I was told that his employer had not made Socso contributions since 1997 although he was registered as a member,” she was quoted as saying.

Zaliha, a mother of three who were aged three to 10 years at the time of her husband’s passing, said she received a pleasant surprise recently when her relative, who is a Socso employee, checked the status of her husband’s record again and found that the employer had settled all outstanding payments in 2017.

She said following this, she was told that she would be eligible to receive what was due to her 21 years ago.

“I had struggled with a monthly income of RM100 a month to bring up my children. Only God knows what I went through then.

“I plan to perform the hajj for myself and my late husband with this compensation,” she said.