The World Social Security Forum is taking place in Kuala Lumpur from 29 September to 3 October 2025, and the presentations by the Malaysian hosts launched a week of exchanges and learning among leading managers, policymakers and experts in social security from around the world.

The opening day began with a celebration of Malaysia’s role as host and its commitment to expand coverage and advance inclusive and resilient social security systems.

In his opening speech, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar bin Ibrahim, emphasised that a world fractured by inequalities cannot endure. “We must start to see social security as part of a global eco-system”, he said.

“I expect that this World Forum will generate a renewed commitment: to protect those still left behind, anticipate risks not yet visible, and more importantly, act with urgency”, said the ISSA President, Dr Mohammed Azman, who also heads the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) in Malaysia.

The Minister of Human Resources, Steven Sim Chee Keong, shared a powerful story about the divergent fates of the families of two gig workers that died in the same accident. One was covered by social protection, the other not. One therefore had income security, the other not. “This demonstrates the importance of our new legislation on social protection for gig workers”, he said.

Bold reforms in Malaysia

The opening ceremony was followed by a plenary session on social security in Malaysia, where representatives from the host organizations presented the impressive developments of social protection in the country. Recently, there have been important reforms aimed at expanding social protection coverage for gig economy workers. The landmark Gig Workers Bill 2025 mandates platform providers to formalize agreements and contribute to workers’ social protection. Both Malaysia’s Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will play a key role in these efforts.

Global trends and video festival

Following Malaysia’s national presentation, the afternoon plenary sessions focused on global developments and trends in social security with the release of a new flagship report from the ISSA offering a global perspective and comparative insights across the world. The report sets the scene for discussions during the World Forum.

The day concluded with the International Social Security Video Festival Awards Ceremony, celebrating the participation of 261 videos, 15 nominated videos and 4 awards. The videos will be screened in a “cinema” all through the week of the World Forum, and are available for public viewing on an online interactive map./.