Those doctoring foreign workers medical reports will be struck out

comments     YS Tong     Published     Updated

The government will come down hard on private clinics that help foreign workers stay in the country by falsifying their medical reports, warned Health Minister Chua Jui Meng today.

If they (clinicians) are found falsifying information intentionally, qualifying unfit foreign workers as fit, then they must be struck out, the minister told reporters after opening a wine retail outlet in Selangor.

Chua explained that unfit workers are those found with diseases  mainly Hepatitis B, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, drug abuse, and AIDS.

According to the minister, 2,655 doctors, 238 laboratories, 613 X-ray centres, and 72 radiologists have registered as of August last year with Fomena Sdn Bhd  to which the government has privatised the national health monitoring system on foreign workers since late 1997.

The government, in recent years, made it compulsory for foreign workers to go for medical check-ups at least once a year.

Chua said no cases of falsifying medical reports have been detected in Malaysia so far but three clinics in Indonesia which were appointed by the government had their status revoked when they were found guilty of the offence. Two were later reinstated.

Chua said his ministry performed random checks on foreign workers at airports and seaports upon their arrival and discovered that some unfit workers were certified to be fit by clinics in their countries of origin.

These workers were sent back immediately, he said.

The minister said foreign workers have caused some impact on the health of Malaysians and this was why Fomena was put in charge of the monitoring system.

Before the monitoring system was privatised, little data was available on the health of foreign workers in Malaysia due to their high number and fraud by the private clinics involved, he said.

Difficult task

However, he said it is difficult to keep track on the health status of illegal foreign workers as the ministry has no monitoring system for them.

Illegal foreign workers are a matter of enforcement by different agencies, he said.

For last year, Chua revealed that Fomena performed medical check-ups on 500,133 foreign workers, of whom 9,264 were found to be unfit.

Of these unfit workers, 80 percent were Indonesian, 13 percent Bangladeshi, 2.6 percent Filipino, 1.9 percent Indian, and 2.1 percent others, he said.

Asked if the high number of unfit workers among Indonesians was why the government had said hire Indonesians last, Chua replied, It is one contributing factors but not the primary factor.

Following a couple of riots in recent weeks involving hundreds of Indonesian workers, the government had repeatedly stressed it will cut down the intake of Indonesian workers, accusing them of causing social ills and unrest in the country.

Meanwhile, Chua today also called on employers to provide foreign workers with better accommodation and basic amenities that will help prevent contagious diseases.

The workers should also take care of themselves and practise healthy lifestyles which will reduce the risk of diseases, he added.



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