Bodies slam eKesihatan fiasco

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Various non-governmental organisations have lambasted the Road Transport Department (RTD) over the eKesihatan fiasco.
The NGOs held a press conference yesterday to voice their dissatisfaction over the way the matter was handled and said they would be handing a memorandum to the prime minister.
The groups that attended the press conference, organised by the Social Action Initiative Foundation, included Transparency International, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca), Private Care Doctors Organisation Malaysia (PCDOM), Pan Malaysian Lorry Owners Association and the Taxi, Limousine and Rented Car Owners and Operators Association.
Also present was former special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Ethics, Tunku Abdul Aziz.
Social Action Initiative Foundation executive deputy chairman Tan Sri Robert Phang said the Anti-Corruption Agency should probe the transport ministry secretary-general and the RTD director-general, deputy director-general and enforcement director.
He said RTD deputy director-general Solah Mat Hassan should be given a showcause letter asking him to explain certain comments he had made in the press.
“He (Solah) had said that he had secured the necessary co-operation from the Ministry of Health and the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) before implementing the eKesihatan scheme.
“This is a big lie because the ministry and the MMA both said they didn't know anything about it.
“Until today, has anybody heard the RTD apologising about the matter? Why haven't they? Are they being big-headed?
Phang said it was not just two or three NGOs complaining about the matter, but the public themselves who were up in arms over this issue.
He also re-issued his earlier challenge to the RTD to a debate on the matter and said it was in the absolute interest of the public to have some accountability about what had gone wrong.
Tunku Abdul Aziz said the RTD must do more to fight corruption.
“There is no law that we don't have.
“What we lack is enforcement.
“We have this tutup sebelah mata culture and the RTD is not enforcing the laws of the government,” he said.
Fomca director Darshan Singh said the end victim of such problems was the consumer.
“Something seriously needs to be done here.
“Our country lacks ethics and enforcement and we hope the people at large are protected from such malpractice because our lives are at stake.”
Taxi, Limousine and Rented Car Owners and Operators Association deputy president Mohd Syahrir Abdul Aziz said the eKesihatan initiative was good if it had been carried out properly.