Part-time Bernama TV Cameraman Receives Survivors’ Pension After Losing Wife

GEORGE TOWN, Sept 1 (Bernama) -- Part-time Bernama TV cameraman Khalil Ahmad Daud, whose wife died of breast cancer on Aug 23, has been awarded a Survivors’ Pension of RM737.50 per month by the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso).

Penang Perkeso director Rafidah Abdul Rahim said Zaridah Maulana, 56, was eligible for the protection based on her contribution records, despite having stopped working in 2006.

She said the Survivors’ Pension would be paid to Khalil, 62, for the rest of his life, while his youngest son, Haqimi Haykal, 20, would be eligible to receive the benefit until he completes his first degree.

The pension is divided according to a three-fifths share for the husband and two-fifths for the child, effective from the date of Zaridah’s death on Aug 23.

“Although the deceased had stopped working, the contributions she made during approximately 15 years of employment enable her dependants to continue receiving protection.

“This demonstrates the importance of workers contributing to Perkeso, as the benefits from those contributions can still be enjoyed by family members after the contributor passes away,” she told Bernama after visiting Khalil and presenting him with the Survivors’ Pension and Funeral Management Benefit (FPM) at his home in Taman Tun Sardon here today.

She said Perkeso had received the complete claim from the family and that the RM3,000 FPM payment had been credited to Khalil’s account on Aug 28.

Rafidah said workers must ensure that they are registered and that contributions are made on their behalf by their employers, as required under the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969 (Act 4).

She said workers who discover that no Perkeso contributions had been made on their behalf could lodge a complaint, while self-employed individuals were encouraged to obtain protection through the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (LINDUNG Kendiri).

Meanwhile, Khalil said he was touched by Perkeso’s concern in visiting his family and providing the benefits.

“I never thought that I would receive benefits like this. Thank you to Perkeso for taking the time to visit us and for helping us through the Survivors’ Pension and Funeral Management Benefit,” he said.

The father of two said his wife had been suffering from breast cancer since 2024, in addition to diabetes and high blood pressure, before her health deteriorated further about a month before her death.

He said the deceased had worked as an accounts clerk at a construction company for approximately 15 years before leaving her job after giving birth to their second child, Haqimi Haykal, in 2006.

Recalling his final moments with his wife, Khalil said that before leaving for work at around noon on the day of the incident, he had managed to clean his wife’s body, feed her some doughnuts and give her iced barley water.

“That is something I will never forget. Before going to work, I managed to feed her a little bit of doughnut and give her some iced barley water. I also managed to kiss her before leaving, but by 7pm, she was already gone,” he said.

Haqimi Haykal, meanwhile, said the last time he spoke to his mother was around 4pm, before he and his father, who had returned from work, fell asleep.

“At around 6.30pm, my papa and I woke up to watch a live football match on television. Not long after that, we heard what sounded like something falling inside the room.

“I then went into the room to check on mama and tried to wake her, but that was when I realised that she had passed away,” he said.

According to Haqimi Haykal, his mother had suffered a broken leg last year but was still able to walk at the time. However, her mobility gradually became more restricted before she eventually became completely bedridden following a deterioration in her health about a month before her death.

– BERNAMA