KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) said it was disappointed with Fomema Sdn Bhd’s decision to increase the fees and frequency of medical examinations for foreign workers without any prior discussion with stakeholders.

In a statement on Wednesday, MEF said businesses only found out about the increase in fees and frequency of the check-ups when visiting the Fomema website.

MEF president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman said up till now, there has been no official announcement by the relevant government authorities with regards to the increases made by Fomema, which took effect from Dec 16, 2023.

“Previously, foreign workers needed to do a medical check up to three years continuously and did not need to do any medical check-up until seven years later. The requirement for medical check-up was subsequently changed to every alternate year but now Fomema changed the requirement for foreign workers to every year[.]"

“Fomema also unilaterally increased the fees by 10% to 14%. With about two million foreign workers, employers need to bear [a cost of] about RM414 million yearly for foreign workers' Fomema medical examination,” he shared.

MEF then urged the relevant authorities to step in and hold talks with the relevant stakeholders, as well as for the increase in fees and frequency of check-ups to be suspended in the meantime.

Before the announcement on the increase in medical examination fees for foreign workers, the charges by Fomema were RM190 for male and RM207 for female foreign workers covering screening for HIV, Hepatitis B, syphilis and pregnancy, including use of opiates and cannabis.

The fees have been increased to RM207 for males and RM217 for females and expanded to include three new categories, namely filariasis (roundworm), Hepatitis C and methamphetamine.