PUTRAJAYA (Feb 26): Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today that the beneficiaries of the mySalam takaful protection scheme are not customers of insurance provider Great Eastern Takaful Bhd, but rather customers of the Malaysian government. 

“They are not customers of Great Eastern, they are customers of the Malaysian government, where we give them this insurance coverage free of charge,” he said.

Lim was responding to concerns raised that beneficiaries of mySalam will be tied to Great Eastern as customers, even after the five-year coverage period expires. 

Lim said the scheme is now offered by Great Eastern Takaful Bhd, hence all filing of claims will be administered by the takaful provider, while Bank Negara Malaysia will regulate and provide oversight on the coverage. 

“Other takaful operators may be appointed to administer the scheme in the future,” he said. 

On concerns that the one-off RM8,000 compensation may not be enough, and that the RM2 billion may be better used to improve the public healthcare system, Lim assured that the government is doing the best it can. 

“Even if we provide RM80,000 (protection coverage), it will also not be enough because healthcare costs are so high. But the point is, we are trying to do what we can. Bear in mind that we are not charging them any premium — this is given for free,” he said.

On the issue of data privacy, Lim said while Great Eastern will have access to the data and information of the beneficiaries, the access is subject to the Personal Data Protection Act, so the insurer cannot then use the data for other purposes. 

He was speaking at the launch of the official website of mySalam —www.mysalam.com.my — by both the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Ministry of Health, for eligible Malaysians to register and make their claims online. 

mySalam offers free takaful healthcare protection to the B40 group — a segment of Malaysians comprising up to 3.69 million individuals. The scheme's coverage began on Jan 1 and eligible beneficiaries can start making their claims from March 1.

To start with, Great Eastern Holdings have contributed an initial seed funding of RM2 billion to the mySalam trust fund, which will cover the first five years of its implementation. Lim said other insurance companies have expressed their interest to participate in the scheme, but did not elaborate.

According to the MoF, the RM8,000 payment for eligible recipients under the newly-launched national protection scheme, which covers over 36 critical illnesses, is only one-off. There will also be an income replacement of up to RM700 per year or RM50 per day, for a maximum of 14 days.

“Today, the official website for the mySalam scheme is ready and operational. Registrations can be made online through the website and eligible recipients of the scheme can file their claims through the same channel. Additionally, further information regarding the scheme can also be found on the website at www.mysalam.com.my,” Lim said in a statement.