Screening ongoing for 127,000 foreign workers in Penang

By Audrey Dermawan - December 3, 2020 @ 11:38am

GEORGE TOWN: Penang has started screening some 127,000 foreign workers from various sectors in the state, following the mandatory Covid-19 exercise for all such workers beginning Tuesday.

State Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo, however, could not provide figures of those who have been screened since Dec 1.

Without going into specifics, Jagdeep said some 3,000 foreign workers in a workers dormitory had almost completed the screening process in the past 48 hours.

"The (screening) process is ongoing by the respective employers and the state government is monitoring the situation on the ground.

"We have been receiving reports on the matter. I was told that at a foreign workers dormitory, nearly 3,000 of them had completed screening. I will be conducting a spot check tomorrow and I hope to deliver news that they all tested negative.

"The state government has no issue with the mandatory Covid-19 screening for foreign workers. In fact, it should be done. And we were the first state to have done so in April for foreign workers in the construction sector.

"However, our concern is the constraints faced such as the limited facilities at our hospitals and clinics as well as who will be bearing the cost. This is a federal government's decision. By right, the federal government should utilise the allocation set aside in the 2021 Budget for Covid-19 for this purpose," he said at the City Hall Building here today.

Elaborating, Jagdeep said the pandemic had affected the country's economy.

He added that some sectors hardly registered any business, yet the employers were made to pay for their foreign workers' screening.

"Placing the burden on the employers will further aggravate the situation.

"By right, this should be done accordingly, starting with the sectors which are high risk before moving down to other sectors," he added.

It was reported that from Dec 1, all foreign workers nationwide were required to undergo mandatory Covid-19 screening, with their respective employers bearing the cost of the procedures.

This followed the increasing number of positive cases among them, particularly at factories and construction sites, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said.

He had also said that the first phase of Covid-19 screening would be carried out in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Labuan and Negri Sembilan and the Human Resources Ministry would enforce the ruling from Dec 1.

In a separate development, Jagdeep said the two city councils in the state would begin the process of ensuring that 30 per cent of women are fielded as councillors in both the Penang Island and Seberang Prai City Councils beginning next year.

He said, at present, nine of 48 councillors in both city councils were made up of women, making it about 20 per cent the number of women fielded as councillors.

Similarly, Jagdeep said the quota for councillors from among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) would be opened up to other NGOs as well from now instead of only two currently, namely Penang Forum and the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

"These are two important steps we are taking to ensure gender equality and greater transparency," he added.