Moratorium dan Reassessment on MySalam Scheme

By March 22, 2019Uncategorized

To

YAB Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
Prime Minister of Malaysia

YAB Tun,

Re: Moratorium dan Reassessment on MySalam Scheme

We, groups and individuals who undersign this appeal letter, are very concerned with the MySalam scheme which was recently launched by the Malaysian government. From the statements of the Minister of Finance and Minister of Health, we understand that the MySalam scheme contains two components.

Component I: A lump sum payment of RM 8, 000 to the individuals who are in the B40 group, age between 18 years old to 55 years old, if they are diagnosed with any of the 36 illnesses;
Component II: A daily payment of RM 50 to individuals in the same group, upon their admission into government hospital, with a cap of 14 days every year.


We also understand that the Great Eastern Insurance Company will be paid RM 400 million a year (premium of RM 112 per person for 3.7 million individuals) for a period of 5 years, for providing this protection to the targeted group in the B40 group. According to the statement by the Minister of Finance, the payment is made from a fund of RM 2 billion, which was already paid by the Great Eastern Company to the Malaysian Government, in order to be exempted from the requirement of selling 30% of its share to Malaysian Institutions, such as KWSP and PNB.

We accept the good will of the government in aiding the citizens in the B40 group despite the nation being burdened by debts previously incurred by BN’s administration. However, several matters in this scheme have raised our doubts and worries. One of which is the fact that the government has not conducted an actuarial assessment on the package, which was offered by Great Eastern.

Under these exclusion clauses, it is impossible for a patient with Parkinson’s Disease (#30) to receive RM 8, 000.00 in the coming 5 years, because this disease usually occurs in people with ages more than 70 years old and it will take more than 10 years to deteriorate to the level where the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) are impaired. The patients with Parkinson’s Disease, who have difficulty in carrying out their ADL are usually diagnosed 10 years earlier, and are then excluded from the scheme. The new cases of Parkinson’s Disease who are diagnosed after 1/1/2019 will not reach the level of impairment on ADL within the period of 5 years. The clauses on ADL will also exclude many patients with meningitis (#3), encephalitis (#13) and head injury (#24) from benefiting from MySalam scheme.

Other than the ADL clause, there is also another clause on “permanency” or permanent disability for meningitis, encephalitis and head injury. Is it possible that the Great Eastern Company will reject the claims of patients with these illnesses, even though they fulfill the criteria of experiencing difficulty with ADL, due to reasons of “permanency”?

There are also exclusion clauses which are not clearly stated – heart attacks (18), weak hearts or even cardiomyopathy (#8) and cancer (#7) are only eligible to receive a payment of RM 8, 000 if their illness is of a specified severity! Does the Malaysian Government know the severity of these illnesses to be entitled to receive RM 8, 000? Or does the Minister of Finance wholly believe in the sincerity of the Great Eastern company without undertaking a detailed study on the quantum of assistance which will be received by the B40 group through this MySalam scheme?

We feel that it is imperative that the MySalam scheme be temporarily suspended so that an actuarial assessment can be conducted to estimate the expected quantum of payments within a year in accordance with MySalam scheme after all exclusion clauses are taken into account. If the quantum is far less than RM 400 million payable by the government for the protection of the scheme, we should revoke MySalam scheme and look for other methods to use the RM 2 billion compensation for the welfare of the B40 group.

One of the methods to be considered is to use this amount to help patients from the B40 group to pay for equipment and appliances, which is now payable by government hospital patients, such as metal plates and screws for orthopedic surgery, eye lenses for cataract surgery, drug-eluting stents for angioplasty procedures and so on. This represents a huge burden on the patients from the B40 group and the assistance in buying these equipments would very much alleviate their financial burden.

We hope the Prime Minister can intervene in this matter to ensure the RM 2 billion from the Great Eastern Company would be best utilized for the citizens in B40 group.

Thank you.

So far the following people and groups have agreed to endorse

  1. Agora Society
  2. Aliran
  3. Association of Toy Libraries Malaysia
  4. All Women’s Action Society (AWAM)
  5. Baramkini
  6. Blindspot
  7. Childline Malaysia, MCTF
  8. Child Development Initiative Malaysia
  9. Citizens’ Health Initiative
  10. Concerned Citizens’ Group
  11. El Shaddai
  12. Federation of Reproductive Health Associations Malaysia (FRHAM)
  13. Foreign Spouses Support Group (FSSG)
  14. Gabungan Pembebasan Akademik
  15. G25 Malaysia
  16. Health Equity Initiatives
  17. Jaringan Raykat Tertindas (JERIT)
  18. Komrad Borneo
  19. Kuliah Buku (KUBU)
  20. Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
  21. Malaysian Council for Child Welfare
  22. Malaysian Hindu Youth Council
  23. Malaysian Dravidian Association
  24. Malaysia Muda
  25. Malaysia Rare Disorders Society
  26. Marhaen Institute
  27. Myskills Foundation (MSF)
  28. Parti Murbah
  29. Persatuan Sahabat Wanita
  30. Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM)
  31. Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS)
  32. Sabah Women Action Resource Group
  33. Sahabat Rakyat (SR)
  34. SAVE Rivers
  35. Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia
  36. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
  37. Sunflower Electoral Education Movement (SEED)
  38. Tenaganita
  39. Women Development Organisation Malaysia
  40. Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK)

and by:

  1. Tan Sri Hasmy Agam
  2. Prof. Emeritus Chan Chee Khoon
  3. Datin P. H. Wong
  4. Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
  5. Datin Dr. Lim Swee Im
  6. Dato’ Dr. Narimah Mat Awin
  7. Dr. Aaron Fernandez
  8. Mr. Anil Netto
  9. Dr. Chee Heng Leng
  10. Mr. Choo Seow Theang
  11. Dr. David Quek
  12. Mr. Henry Loh Kee Wey
  13. Ms. Ho Yock Lin
  14. Ms. Irene Xavier
  15. Mr. Jeremy Kwan
  16. Mr. Joseph Paul Maliamauv
  17. Ms. Josie M. Fernandez
  18. Ms. Katrina Maliamauv
  19. Mr. Lee Kek Siong  
  20. Dr. Mary Cardosa
  21. Ms. Mary Shanthi Dairiam
  22. Mr. Mohd Nasir
  23. Mr. Muhammad Sha’ani b. Abdullah
  24. Ms. Nisha Subanayagam
  25. Ms. Noor Farida Ariffin
  26. Mr. Ng Kian Nam
  27. Dr. Patricia Martinez
  28. Dr. Prema Devaraj
  29. Dr. Raj Karim
  30. Ms. Ramani Gurusamy
  31. Dato Dr. Ronald McCoy
  32. Ms. Sarasvathy Muthu
  33. Dr. Sharifah Munirah Alatas
  34. Ms. Sharmila Sekaran
  35. Dr. Subramaniam Pillai
  36. Dr. Syed Husin Ali
  37. Dr. Tan Ai Mei
  38. Ms. Tham Hui Ying
  39. Dr. Tium Ling Ta
  40. Dr. TK Wong
  41. Dr. Toh Kin Woon
  42. Dr. Uma Devi Palanisamy
  43. Dr. Wan Namaziah
  44. Mr. Wee Soon Cheng
  45. Ms. Wong Mei Lee
  46. Ms. Yap Sook Yee
  47. Ms. Yeong Moh Foong

 

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