Firm denies milking JPJ scheme

Star: PETALING JAYA: A bulk of the RM80 eKesihatan fee paid by commercial vehicle drivers to ensure they were drug-free and medically fit to drive will go back to the doctors and laboratories that conducted the medical tests.
Doctors performing the tests would be paid between RM35 and RM45 while the laboratories would receive between RM25 and RM35 for the seven tests, Supremme Systems Sdn Bhd executive director Datuk Nordin Yahaya said yesterday.
He added that RM2 of the RM80 will cover postal fees while Supremme Systems, which runs the programme, will get between RM8 and RM10 (about 12%) to cover its monitoring, database server and infrastructure maintenance costs.
“We are not making RM400mil as reported. How is that possible when we are only charging between RM8 and RM10 for our costs, which include our staff salary and maintenance costs?” he asked.
Nordin said this yesterday at a press conference held to clarify reports and criticisms from various parties, including taxi and bus operators, over the RM80 fee and claims that the company would be making RM35 from this amount.
On Friday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said the eKesihatan scheme, which begins on Oct 1, would plug loopholes in the current system such as chits being falsified, resulting in drug addicts and unfit people driving commercial vehicles, including express buses.
Nordin said the system would ensure all necessary tests would be carried out by a certified laboratory.
“The eKesihatan provides a comprehensive online medical history and database of commercial vehicle drivers for the Road Transport Department (JPJ), which is especially useful when renewing licences or when an accident happens. This was non-existent previously,” he added.
“Our aim is to work with JPJ to ensure road users’ safety. If the doctors are willing to reduce their price, we will be more than happy to do so as it goes back to them anyway.”
Government clinics, he said, could also be involved in the scheme as long as they had the proper facilities, including printers and Internet connection to be linked to the system.
“If the clinics are involved, then the price to be paid to the doctors and labs will be according to the government price, which can make the total fee much lower than RM80. But that is up to the Health Ministry to decide,” he said.
Nordin also clarified that they were not out to register doctors as previously claimed by various associations and reports.
On the Malaysian Medical Association’s claim that they were not consulted, Nordin said they approached them in August 2005 and again this month after they signed the agreement with the Government but had not heard from them.