FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS |
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When should we register our foreign worker(s) for medical examination? ANSWER |
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Why is there a quota imposed on each doctor of the panel? ANSWER |
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Why can't we choose the same doctor as in the previous year? ANSWER |
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Can Fomema direct or instruct
which doctor we should choose? ANSWER |
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Can we change the selected clinic? ANSWER |
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Why are reputable private hospitals not allowed to participate? ANSWER |
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Why can't Fomema transmit the results immediately after
we have paid the registration fees at Fomema branches? ANSWER |
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08 |
Why do Fomema registered doctors and X-ray centres insist on us presenting the original passport? ANSWER |
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09 |
Can we use
Fomema
medical card or Immigration Card or our company's
employee identification card for this purpose? ANSWER |
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10 |
Can we use the photocopy of the original passport for
verification of identity? ANSWER |
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11 |
We are disappointed that your panel of doctors cannot
expedite the medical examination and can only carry out
a limited number of examinations. ANSWER |
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12 |
Our foreign worker's medical status at
Fomema
is
shown as unsuitable while our
doctor has personally confirmed to us that he has certified our worker as
suitable. What is the explanation? ANSWER |
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13 |
Can
Fomema change
the status of our foreign workers to unsuitable? ANSWER |
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14 |
Why does
Fomema
certify my workers unsuitable when our specialist
doctor, after repeating the examinations, confirms that my workers are fit to work? ANSWER |
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15 |
Can we also select the X-ray clinic of our choice? ANSWER |
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16 |
When will the medical status of
my foreign workers be available
at the Immigration Department? ANSWER |
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17 |
Why is our workers' status not available at the Immigration
Department when
Fomema
has confirmed to us that it (Fomema) has transmitted the medical status? ANSWER |
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18 |
We were told that our workers' medical status are no longer with
the Immigration Department; please explain. ANSWER |
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19 |
We
think the medical examination fee of RM180 and RM190 for male
and female respectively is high. ANSWER |
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20 |
Why must foreign workers
undergo medical examinations annually? ANSWER |
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21 |
Why must we
go through
Fomema? ANSWER |
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LATEST
DIRECTIVE
FROM THE
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
ON NUMBER OF
MEDICAL EXAMINATION
CONDUCTED ON
FOREIGN WORKERS
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The Ministry of Health has informed us the
decision of the Government that foreign workers
are subject to 3 medical examination only as
stated below: |
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Medical
examination within 1 month upon arrival
in Malaysia (for the purpose of
application of work permit for year 1). |
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Annual
medical examination at the end of the
first year of the foreign worker in
Malaysia for the renewal of work permit
(for the purpose of application of work
permit for year 2). |
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Annual
medical examination at the end of second
year for the foreign worker in Malaysia
for the renewal of work permit (for the
purpose of application of work permit
for year 3). |
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Annual medical examination at the end of third
year and onwards are not required. Employers who
are not certain whether the foreign workers are
excluded for the medical examination based on
the above, please seek clarification from the
Immigration Department. |
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Nevertheless, should the foreign worker who are
excluded from the above policy choose to use our
system to carry out medical examination, our
normal registration procedure applied. |
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01
When should we register our foreign worker(s) for medical examination? |
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The guidelines by the Immigration Department
stipulate that employers must take appropriate steps to renew the work permits of
their workers 3 months before their expiry. |
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We would advise employers to place importance on this annual
medical examination to avoid unnecessary inconvenience due to
last minute registration. We also wish to caution employers that
they may be subject to compound/fine by Immigration Department
for late renewal. |
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02
Why is there a quota imposed on each doctor of the panel? |
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The quota system was imposed by the Ministry
of Health (MOH) to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of the number of foreign
workers to be examined under the health-screening program amongst doctors
registered with
Fomema. |
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Each doctor is allowed to examine
up to 500 foreign
workers annually as directed by MOH.
However, the MOH grants approval for exceeding the
quota for exceptional cases,
where there are insufficient doctors in the locality especially in remote areas, taking
into consideration the number of registered doctors with
Fomema and the number
of foreign workers in the area. The MOH provides clear guidelines for the
approval of such requests for an increase in quota to ensure that the employers in the
affected areas are not inconvenienced.
Fomema implements the MOH's directive. |
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04
Can Fomema direct or instruct
which doctor we should choose? |
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No. It is the responsibility of employers to choose
the doctor for their
foreign workers' for medical examination. To facilitate
the selection by employers, detailed listings of the
panel of registered doctors are publicly displayed at all
Fomema branches or at
http://www.fomema.com.my/docavail.php. We
stress that,
Fomema and its staff are not responsible for the selection.
Disciplinary actions have been taken against those found doing so. |
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05
Can we change the selected clinic? |
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If an employer provides a valid reason,
Fomema can
change the selected clinic. Otherwise an administrative fee of RM20 is levied
for each change. The fee is a deterrent measure introduced to curb the abuse of
our system. It also enhances the
integrity and quality of medical examination and minimizes disruption to counter
services. |
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06
Why are reputable private hospitals not allowed to participate? |
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The decision to disallow private hospitals to
carry out foreign workers' medical examination is a directive from the MOH.
However, the MOH permits any registered doctor of a private hospital to carry out
medical examination on foreign workers who are employed by the staff of that hospital. |
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07 |
Why can't Fomema transmit the results immediately after
we have paid the registration fees at Fomema branches? |
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At that point in time, there are
no results to transmit. Foreign workers must undergo the required
medical examination at the chosen doctor's clinic and x-ray centre before the
doctor can submit the results to
Fomema. We advise employers to start the process of medical
examination early to avoid unforeseen circumstances or delay. |
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08
Why do Fomema registered doctors and X-ray centres insist on us presenting the original passport? |
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It is crucial for the purpose of verification of
the identity
of the foreign workers under this mandatory health-screening program. Fomema has
detected attempts by irresponsible parties/employers using substitutes to
undergo medical examination on behalf of unhealthy workers.
It is our standard operating
procedure that doctors must not carry out the medical examination unless the
identity of the foreign worker is ascertained. |
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09 |
Can we use
Fomema
medical card or Immigration Card or our company's
employee identification card for this purpose? |
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Only the original passport is the legal
document for the purpose of identification under this mandatory annual
health-screening program. |
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10
Can we use the photocopy of the original passport for
verification of identity? |
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No, it is not valid for
the purpose of this crucial procedure of verification of identity. |
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11 |
We are disappointed that your panel of doctors cannot
expedite the medical examination and can only carry out
a limited number of examinations. |
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We wish to explain that a doctor is
physically only
capable of carrying out a limited number of medical examinations per day. As a
guide, a through medical examination based on our
standard format
of medical examination takes about 15 minutes to complete. |
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Therefore, we advise employers to make an appointment
with the doctor concerned to schedule the medical examination of their workers if they intend
to bring a large number of workers. |
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12 |
Our foreign worker's medical status at
Fomema
is
shown as UNSUITABLE while our
doctor has personally confirmed to us that he has certified our worker as
SUITABLE. What is the explanation?
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This
can happen when either the x-ray findings or the laboratory's test results or both have
shown
abnormalities and these concerned have transmitted their findings accordingly. Despite the
findings of abnormalities by X-ray clinic or laboratory, your chosen doctor had
certified your worker SUITABLE. In such a situation of inconsistencies, our system
of monitoring automatically detects them and upon our investigation (and based on
criteria set by the MOH), the worker's status will be amended to UNSUITABLE. An
example would be where the laboratory test detected the presence of hepatitis B
antigen but the doctor chooses to transmit
the certification as SUITABLE. This is the essence of the health-screening program
under our system, to detect and prevent inconsistencies or likely abuses. |
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13
Can
Fomema change
the status of our foreign workers to UNSUITABLE? |
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Yes, if we have subsequent evidence that the
worker has not met the criteria of SUITABLE certification even though the examining
doctor had initially certified the foreign worker as suitable. This mainly
arises from our auditing of the X-ray films by our X-ray Quality Control Centre,
where the X-ray film was initially misread as 'normal'. In such a situation,
Fomema
will inform the employer, the doctor and the Immigration Department accordingly
that the foreign worker's status has been amended to UNSUITABLE.
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14 |
Why does
Fomema
certify my workers UNSUITABLE when our specialist
doctor, after repeating the examinations, confirms that my workers are fit to work? |
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The medical examination under
Fomema is a
screening program and not definitely diagnostic in nature. The criteria used for certification
of foreign workers' health status are determined by the MOH and
Fomema adheres
strictly to them. |
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Doctors who are not as Fomema
panel for the foreign workers' health-screening program may not have the
criteria for certification for SUITABILITY
FOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE COUNTRY. A doctor may have the opinion that the
worker is fit to work at the time of medical examination despite having detected
the likelihood of a communicable disease. Common examples are medical results of
workers having indication of tuberculosis (PTB) or old tuberculosis (OTB) which
may re-activate anytime after the medical examination. In such cases, the benefit
of the doubt is given to the country and not the foreign worker. As such, under the
criteria set by the MOH, the worker will be certified as UNSUITABLE FOR
EMPLOYMENT where there is an indication of communicable diseases even though
the diseases are not active at the time of medical examination. |
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15
Can we also select the X-ray clinic of our choice? |
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When the employers choose the registered
doctor, the X-ray facility has already been pre-assigned to that
doctor as indicated in the
Fomema 4-ply Foreign Worker Information form. The X-ray
clinics are assigned to the doctors when they register with
Fomema, based on criteria set
by the MOH taking into account the independence of operation and the integrity necessary under this annual
mandatory health-screening program. |
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16
When will the medical status of my foreign workers be available
at the Immigration Department? |
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Under
normal circumstances,
Fomema
will be able to transmit the certification of the medical status to the Immigration Department
Headquarters within 10 workings days from the date of examination by the doctor of your
workers. (Please note that it is not from the date of registration with
Fomema) . |
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17 |
Why is our workers' status not available at the Immigration
Department when
Fomema
has confirmed to us that it (Fomema) has transmitted the medical status? |
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Fomema is required to
transmit the medical status of foreign workers only to the Immigration
Department Headquarters' database. The medical status is then re-transmitted from
the Immigration Department Headquarters to the respective state Immigration
Departments. Therefore, a time lapse of some duration may arise when connectivity is affected
between the state level Immigration Department and the Headquarters.
In such situations, you can always seek
Fomema's assistance.
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We were told that our workers' medical status are no longer with
the Immigration Department; please explain. |
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The medical status of foreign workers are only available
for 3 months at the Immigration Department from the date of medical examination.
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19
We think the medical examination fee of RM180 and RM190 for male
and female respectively is high. |
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The fee was determined by the Government in
1997 based on the requirements and standard format of
medical examination as stipulated by
the MOH. The fees have not changed
since the inception of
Fomema in 1997 and
it is lower
than the recommended fee by the Malaysian Medical Association for similar
medical examination. |
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20
Why must foreign workers undergo medical examinations annually? |
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The frequency of the medical examination under the
mandatory screening program has been determined by the MOH. Furthermore, medical
examination in principle is only valid for a limited period of time.
Certain diseases may be in remission or inactive during the previous
examination. These may relapse or reactivate subsequently. Also, some diseases
may be freshly acquired. |
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21
Why must we go through
Fomema? |
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The Government has accepted and recognised
Fomema as an
independent agency to monitor and supervise the medical examination for this
mandatory health-screening program. The system of monitoring and surveillance is
tailored to ensure the quality and integrity of the medical examination and to prevent
likely abuses
by agents, employers, doctors and others in the medical examination of foreign workers. In addition, the Government is able
to access timely, centralised and nationwide information on the foreign workers'
health status for appropriate actions. It is a centralised process to facilitate
and coordinate the renewal of work permits nationwide. |
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