Bestinet allegedly collecting 'medical' fee 2 years after contract lapse

While the government has not finalised an agreement with Bestinet Sdn Bhd on the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), another allegation has surfaced against the company.

This time, Bestinet is accused of collecting a fee for the Bio-Medical System (BMS) despite the contract related to it expiring in May 2022.

According to documents sighted by Malaysiakini shared by several agencies recruiting workers from India and Nepal dated July 28, 2024, the company was still collecting the BSM fee of RM130 for each application.

A transaction slip showed that RM100 was for Bestinet while RM30 was for a company called VASN International, which offers “system administration to ensure quality control”.

“There are three issues here. One is Bestinet is still collecting a fee despite its BMS contract having expired in May 2022.

“Secondly, in the contract, Bestinet was only allowed to collect RM100 but it is now collecting an additional RM30 supposedly for another company.

“And lastly, the government stopped bringing in migrant workers to Malaysia on May 31. So why are they still collecting the fee?” asked an agent who spoke on condition of anonymity.

When contacted, Bestinet’s spokesperson refused to comment on the matter and urged Malaysiakini to seek clarification from the government.

“Refer to the government,” said its public relations officer.

Malaysiakini has reached out to the Home Ministry for comments.

Monitoring migrant worker health

BMS is an online system created to monitor a migrant worker’s health in real-time at source countries.

In 2013, the system, together with another called e-VDR (calling visa) was created by Bestinet as a “proof of concept”.

Under BMS, every migrant worker is compelled to undergo health screening in their respective home countries before entering Malaysia.

The BMS system was enforced locally in June 2015 before the government and Bestinet signed an agreement from 2017 until 2021.

Under the contract, Bestinet was allowed to collect RM100 for each application.

The firm was also given the exclusive right to charge the fee on worker applications from 15 source countries.

In 2021, the then-Perikatan Nasional government extended Bestinet’s contract until May 2022 but it was not renewed beyond that.

For the record, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on June 24 that the government extended Bestinet’s contract for another three years but under stricter conditions.

He added that a committee led by Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali would decide on the conditions to be imposed.

The committee would also have representatives from the Home and Human Resources Ministries.

So far, the parties involved have yet to agree on the conditions as Bestinet reportedly wanted to increase charges.

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