Weeding out impersonators Worried about not passing their health checks, some foreign workers get others to go for the tests.
19 December 2017 Print page
DESPERATE for jobs in Malaysia, some foreign workers resort to deception to ensure they pass their medical tests.
Thus, the Immigration Department is working together with the Foreign Workers’ Medical Examination Monitoring Agency (Fomema) to tackle the problem of “impersonators” in clinics.
These are foreigners who go for medical screenings in the place of someone else who may be unfit for work, in order to get them a valid working pass.
“Fomema will alert us if the details do not match up with the person who steps into their panel clinics and centres.
If found unsuitable for work, such foreigners will be deported to their home country.
“We will not compromise the public’s health,” says Mustafar.
Most of those deported for being unfit for work are Indonesians and Bangladeshis, since these two nationalities make up the largest numbers of foreign workers in Malaysia.
As for valid foreign workers, bosses in Malaysia spend about RM330mil a year to pay for their medical check-ups.
But this cost is expected to pile up with the additional health check to be introduced next year, says Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan.
He laments it is already expensive for employers to hire legal foreign help, coupled with escalating costs.
“Perhaps the Government can allow employers to hire foreigners directly from source countries.
“If the Government can allow a similar move for employers to recruit maids directly, why can’t it be done for other foreign workers?” Shamsuddin asks.
Doing this, he says, will help employers lower costs since they do not have to go through recruitment agencies, which earn about RM2,000 for each hired worker.
While he agrees that there are some unscrupulous employers who hire illegal foreign workers, he says they are normally smaller businesses including labour suppliers.
“Bigger organisations sometimes enlist the services of these labour suppliers, without knowing that they recruited illegal workers,” Shamsuddin explains.
Because illegal workers do not undergo health checks, he says the resurfacing of long, forgotten diseases stems from them, and not from legal workers.
“Even with the extra health check, it still does not address the problem of illegal foreign workers who may be infected with such illnesses,” Shamsuddin adds.
Hitting out at employers who recruit illegals, MTUC president Abdul Halim Mansor says such bosses could potentially encourage the spread of forgotten diseases, just so that they can save on costs.
“The Government should take a tough stand against companies that hire illegals and impose serious penalties on them.
“This is because their actions could endanger public health,” he says.
Abdul Halim proposes for a notice to be sent out to companies to warn them of the repercussions if they employ foreign workers who haven’t been certified by Fomema.
“Employers who already have undocumented workers should also take responsibility, get them legalised and sent for health checks,” he adds.
Abdul Halim says the re-emergence of some diseases is due to the weakness of the authorities and employers in addressing this matter.
“Employers should adopt a more nationalist approach and think about the consequences of hiring illegals,” he says.
Source : https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/12/17/weeding-out-impersonators-worried-about-not-passing-their-health-checks-some-foreign-workers-get-oth/#xOBtyHl9rbKGY0Zp.99