YOURSAY | ‘Socso is not a cash cow to fund Covid-19 screenings’

Azmin: Those allowed to work must be screened for Covid-19

Anonymous_1529214566: Minister for International Trade and Industry Azmin Ali, please check the Employees Social Security Act 1969.

The functions of Sosco is to pay benefits to workers and/or dependents in cases of emergency or when tragedy strikes.

Please also check with Human Resources Minister M Saravanan whether Socso is legally allowed to use members’ funds to pay for the rest of Malaysians.

This would dilute the funds and reduce or deplete the amount available to support its paying members or contributors.

Azmin, you have no authority to tell Sosco, which is under Saravanan’s ministry, to pay for the Covid-19 screening.

Anonymous_26d9df97: Can the approved Covid-19 test labs handle the increase in testing?

According to the Health Ministry director-general (DG) Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the labs can only handle up to 11,500 tests per day.

These clinics will definitely be overwhelmed like the police stations at the start of MCO and crash like the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s website.

It is not logical to screen all workers as they could test negative now.

Weeks before, the workers could have contracted the Covid-19 virus from family members, their community or even their co-workers. It defeats the purpose of testing in the first place.

Gaji Buta: This is a waste of resources and testing materials. What will it tell you anyway if the incubation is around 14 days?

How long will the results take? Will they be quarantined until results are ready? And what if they get infected at the clinics, or the next day or next week? Where does this end?

Just wear masks, practise social distancing and check your daily body temperature readings.

Anonymous_1581644768723.6441581644548650: Millions of people will have to be tested and cleared before they go back to work under these restrictions.

This will likely reveal tens of thousands of new cases (0.5 percent of mass tests were positive). So those who want to extend the MCO beyond April 28 and until after Hari Raya will get their way.

This will be the end of the line for millions of Malaysians because they just can't survive that long. No politician - even a very stupid one - would make such a decision unless forced to do so.

And why do we need to use Socso to fund the screenings? It makes no sense at all.

Muruga: A statement by an inexperienced politician.

The doctors at clinics have said they will not conduct the risky screening as they do not have personal protective equipment (PPE), plus there will be overcrowding at the clinics.

Anonymous54: This is a hare-brained requirement. Indeed, can the accredited Socso clinics cope with the flood of workers seeking to undergo tests for Covid-19?

This will cause a situation similar to the requirement for police permit to travel during the first phase of the MCO.

Selsub: Besides Azmin, the Health DG has to explain how the Covid-19 test on people is going to work during the MCO.

Will the same be done for those who will be joining the workforce after the MCO period? Will it conclusively stop the spreading of the deadly virus?

Also, it will be interesting to find out know who would be supplying the test kits.

The Wakandan: This is a little squeak by Azmin to show that he is still around. Been so quiet all this while, I am not sure what he has been doing.

Azmin probably thought he needed to say something to show that he is doing something, but his first shot was a disaster.

Now Socso has to bear the cost of the screening and I wonder who will be lucky enough to get the contract? That would be a multi-million-dollar question.

Harimau_Arif: We have put our lives in the hands of ministers of “air suam”, “Doraemon”, and now “semburit man”.

It’s been more than a month since phase one of the movement control order (MCO); can Azmin explain to all of us, why all those workers have to go for the Covid-19 screening now?

Azmin’s suggestion on using Socso shows his lack of ability or knowledge to plan for anything, except for the backdoor government takeover.

Why don’t you use your backdoor planning skills to manage this situation better?

Ayah Punya Kata: The backdoor prime minister was not approved by the people. That is all the more reason why this proposal ought to have been referred to the Parliament first.

Azmin who did not follow the PKR constitution, cannot be expected to follow the Federal Constitution.

He gives little confidence to everyone. With the injudiciously extended lockdown, without the Dewan Rakyat approval, deaths from starvation may soon occur. We need not mention what will happen when the economy crashes.

Anonymous_1584183714094.49221584182763024: So, what Azmin is really saying is that we must screen all the road users too.

We also need to screen every police officer and army personnel on duty, maybe all their relatives and family members as well. Soon, we may need to screen all everyone in the country.

Anonymous #01428088: Will there be Covid-19 screening for traitors too?

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.

Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.

Malaysiakini is providing free access to the most important updates on the coronavirus pandemic. You can find them here.

Help keep independent media alive - subscribe to Malaysiakini.