BUKIT MERTAJAM, The self-employed are urged to contribute to the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS) because currently only 27.56 per cent or 127,295 people out of the target of 500,000 contributors nationwide are registered under the scheme this year. Human Resource Minister Steven Sim said the SKSPS was introduced to provide protection to self-employed individuals and those who have registered will get various benefits. "I am calling on Malaysians who are self-employed, regardless of whether they are hawkers, entrepreneurs and so on, to contribute to this scheme because this year the government has allocated RM100 million which is a matching grant for the scheme. "Through the allocation, the government will provide a subsidy of 90 per cent and those who register will only have to pay RM23 for a year, this year we are targeting 500,000 SKSPS contributors and various efforts will be carried out (by the Social Security Organisation) to provide exposure to the public regarding the scheme, " he sa id here today. Sim, who is also Bukit Mertajam MP, spoke to reporters after attending the SKSPS Sponsorship and Briefing programme at the Penang SOCSO Office here. At the event, a total of 218 members from 10 Volunteer Fire Associations received SKSPS sponsorship. Meanwhile, Sim said he would give full cooperation to the police following a report made by the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) against him regarding alleged abuse of power. It was reported that the union claimed that the minister made an agreement with the Malayan Commercial Banks Association (MCBA) over a 'Festival Aid' allowance without consulting the union and excluding them from the discussion. Source: BERNAMA News Agency