Malaysia Cabinet Nod For Yearly Foreign Worker Health Check

Some 1.9 million registered Malaysia foreign workers will have to undergo annual health screening from now on. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the Cabinet has approved the new policy on health screening of foreign workers.

“We have approved annual health screening for foreign workers in Malaysia from now,” he told reporters after opening the Fruits and Vegetables Eating Campaign at Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism 2016 (MAHA 2016) here Tuesday.

However, Dr Subramaniam said the policy only affects legal and registered foreign workers.

He said the screening would cover several types of communicable diseases.

He added that the problem of tackling unscreened and illegal foreign workers was not solely the responsibility of the Health Ministry but one that needed a multi-agency approach.

He noted that Sabah was concerned that the influx of illegal workers had resulted in a rise in tuberculosis cases.

At present, foreign workers are screened in their own country before arriving here and again screened three times over the first three years.

Up to 3% of the foreign worker population, or about 60,000 of them, could be medically unfit.

Related Foreign workers news: Bangladesh To Send New Foreign Workers To Malaysia

News source: TheStar