THE Penang government has urged the Federal Government to subsidise the cost of mandatory Covid-19 screening for all foreign workers.
State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said not all employers could afford for their workers to get tested.
“With 1.1 million foreign workers in the country, the question from the industry is that do we have the capacity to do it?
“It is good if it can be done, but the question is how, where and who is going to bear the cost.
“These are things that need to be addressed,” Jagdeep told a press conference after taking part in the celebration of the 551st birthday anniversary of the Sikhs’ first guru, Guru Nanak, at the Penang Wadda Gurdwara Sahib in Jalan Gurdwara in George Town today.
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said the cost of clinic/hospital services must be paid for by the employer while Social Security Organisation (Socso) bears the cost of the test kit (RM60) for the first-time test only.
Jadgeep said when Penang was the first state to conduct screening for foreign construction workers in April, the cost was about RM600 to RM700 per test but it was reduced with the collaboration of an organisation.
He added that some 15,000 foreign workers from the construction sector in the state were screened already.
“Penang has about 127,000 foreign workers. With the national ruling that all foreign workers must undergo mandatory screening, there should be financial assistance from the Federal Government.
“Perhaps we should identify the high-risk sectors of the foreign workers and go down to that ground first. Technically, screening needs to be done every two to three weeks,” Jadgeep said.
He said to date, there are 13 clusters in the state and 23,159 people from these areas had been screened with some still waiting for the results.
The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) have both been instructed to increase monitoring in these areas.
Out of the 1.16 million checks on premises (470,000 on the island and 690,000 on the mainland), Jagdeep said the standard operating procedure compliance rate is over 99 per cent.
On the gurdwara, Jagdeep said he was very happy that the Penang Sikh community has joined their counterparts throughout the world in helping needy folks during the Covid-19 crisis.
Also present were Penang Wadda Gurdwara Sahib president Daljit Singh and patron Gurmit Kaur, who is also the mother of Jagdeep Singh.
Daljit said the temple has assisted over 2,000 families, including those who are jobless and foreign workers who are stranded and need help.
“We’ve distributed 24,000 packets of food to the needy. We have spent RM60,000 and we will continue to support them,” he said.
Daljit said the 120-year-old temple, which is a Category One heritage building, is undergoing renovation and conservation. The total cost is estimated at RM5.5 million and work is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Chan Kok Kuan