E-government to e-scam – Kong Choy should publicly justify e-Kesihatan


Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy should fully explain the second scandal since he became Transport Minister — the e-Kesihatan scandal which is also the latest example of e-government in Malaysia degenerating into e-scams.

The first scandal during Chan’s stewardship as Transport Minister is the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) bailout scandal, for which a full and proper accounting has still to be furnished by him.

Although the Cabinet on Wednesday decided to postpone the eKesihatan health screening of commercial drivers to enable the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to co-ordinate the implementation of the programme, what are exactly the implications of the Cabinet decision.

Does it mean that the RM450 million 15-year eKesihatan middleman concession to centralize the health screening of commercial drivers, scheduled to begin on Oct. 1, had been merely postponed with the monopoly position of Supremme Systems Sdn. Bhd. basically unaffected or could the whole concession monopoly be scrapped?

And in the latter, would Supremme Systems be compensated a substantial amount resulting in a “heads I will, tail you lose” situation for the company at the expense of the taxpayers, as had happened in the past like the Johore Baru crooked half-bridge cancellation, where the contractor Gerbang Perdana Sdn. Bhd had been paid compensation of RM257.4 million, although the government had earlier computed a RM100 million compensation!

Chan should make public the full details of the eKesihatan contract which had been signed between the Road Transport Department and Suprmme Systems Sdn. Bhd, whether the Transport Ministry had fully committed the government to compensate Supremme Systems for delays in implementing the eKesihatan scheme, like the postponement decided by the Cabinet on Wednesday.

After the shocking disclosures of pervasive mismanagement of public funds in the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report and the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal caused by the Transport Minister unlawfully committing the government to stand guarantee for RM4 billion bonds issued by a private company developing the PKFZ, Malaysians are entitled to demand higher standards of accountability to avoid repetition of the same mistakes in the Transport Ministry and the continued mismanagement of public funds.

Chan should also clarify many public interest issues and questions swirling round the e-Kesihatan controversy, particularly the rationale for a middleman rent-seeking scam which will net the concessionaire RM30 million profit a year or RM450 million for the 15-year concession in introducing a new mandatory health screening scheme for commercial drivers.

Chan should also address very serious allegations against the e-Kesihatan scheme concerning integrity and conflict of interest.

As New Straits Times report “New twist in eKesihatan saga” revealed, a company that had bid for the project in February last year was rejected with the excuse that the project had already been awarded.

But Supremme Systems Sdn Bhd, whose director is a former Road Transport Department (RTD) director, only signed the contract this month, 20 months after the bid by the Primary Care Doctors’ Organisation Malaysia.

The letter that PCDOM submitted to the then RTD director-general Datuk Emran Kadir on Feb 24 last year contained a detailed outline of the suggested PrimaCare system.

The system is an award-winning electronic medical record and clinic management software that can be used under the eKesihatan programme.

A follow-up letter to the Transport Ministry on March 10 this year saw a reply a month later where they were told that another company had been chosen.

PCDOM president Dr Molly Cheah Bee Li said her organisation had not only created a computer-based version of the RTD health form, but had also come up with a new form based on a similar model used in the United Kingdom.

“All this was provided free of charge for RTD use,” she said, adding that the system would have been made available to all clinics free of charge as there were no licensing fees.

“The only cost would have been the cost of deployment, training, support and maintenance, which the doctors themselves would be reponsible for.

“Patients would have only had to pay RM5, for gateway charges and processing fees, on top of whatever medical fee the clinic charged.

Chan must explain why his Ministry and the Road Transport Department rejected the PCDOM proposal requiring RM5 as gateway charges in favour of the Supremme Systems’ e-Kesihatan imposing the exorbitant gateway charge of between RM30 — RM35 per person for the some one million applicants seeking renewal of commercial driving licensing a year.

  1. #1 by House Victim on Saturday, 22 September 2007 - 3:36 pm

    If the Parliament cannot even start a disciplinary proceeding on the responsible Minister, the “Government Servant” Regulations is again no more than a piece of “Rock” and the Parliament – the Rubber Chop for ministers or ministry to go wild.

    SHOULDN’T A PUBLIC SERVANT BE SUBJECT TO SUSPENSION AND INVESTIGATION UNDER SUCH SITUATION? Then, why shouldn’t it be for CKC?

    Should there be a reviewing and investigating mechanism in the Parliament for any suggested scandal or conspiracy reported, especially when there are sufficient information to started (At least by what can be found up to now)? If yes, please trigger the mechanism. If no, the last 50 years had gone ashtray for a “constitutional” country.

    If these two cannot be even motioned and put into practice, the basis mechanism of possible Democracy is not here. Therefore, the call for GE will worth nothing but the continuation of a rotting system – an uncontrollable patient which cannot be healed even with the best doctors! If there is no suitable mechanism, the country cannot be help even with the best politician, and, surely cannot if being a minority!

    If there are mechanism and cannot be initiated in the Parliament, then, start court injunctions to compel the respective responsible Departments or Committees supposed to do the Disciplinary or investigation jobs. And, put the jurisdiction system to be tested. Continue the suspension system for those who cannot do their job under the Rules and Regulations – or even to borrow the hand of the King into this test, on request by the People (May be this is what is referred by DR Noor – the King should given a part to play in this country, at least he has use his objection power during the last approval of CJ).

    SHOW US THERE ARE RULES AND REGULATIONS AND START THE MECHANISM OF THE JURISDICTION SYSTEM even if the final result could expose more rotten apples.

    TELL THE PEOPLE AND THE WORLD, AT LARGE, BREAK THE WALLS OF RACES AND PARTIES, the country should be under RULES AND REGULATIONS. And, only to be in the hands of those WHO DARE TO USE RULES AND REGULATIONS even under the very obstructed situation of almost LAWLESSNESS!

    WE NEED LAWFUL POLITICIANS. Scan them under the law and then scrap those unlawful one even without GE! Thereby, they have to work not only for GE!!

  2. #2 by waterman on Saturday, 22 September 2007 - 4:19 pm

    Just for info. that CKC was there too.
    “Working Visit of the Hon. Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Hj. Abdul Razak, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Malaysia to France from 9 to 13 June 2005.
    The Hon. Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Hj. Abdul Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Malaysia completed his five-day working visit to France on Monday, 13 June 2005.
    The Deputy Prime Minister attended the 46th International Paris Air and Space Show at Le Bourget, at the invitation of his French counterpart, Madam Michele Alliot-Marie. The Deputy Prime Minister accompanied by the Hon. Dato’ Sri Chan Kong Choy, Minister of Transport attended the opening ceremony officiated by President Jacques Chirac.”
    – Source from
    Malaysian Association of France

    http://www.maf.online.fr/2005/news_release/news_DPM.htm

  3. #3 by waterman on Saturday, 22 September 2007 - 4:27 pm

    Coincidence
    CKC was also there in Paris June 2005.
    -maf.online.fr

  4. #4 by Justicewanted on Saturday, 22 September 2007 - 10:31 pm

    Just looks at the projects that BN government have implemented.

    Which one really benefits the rakyat directly??

    Most of the projects e.g. e-Kesihatan, PKFZ, all the crap corridors and etc etc are actually e-pocket money for UMNO and BN.

    Things like petrol and gas subsidies which benefit most Rakyat are slowly whithdraw and replace with all this e-crap projects.

  5. #5 by ktteokt on Saturday, 22 September 2007 - 11:07 pm

    We are nurturing a group of e-conmen!

  6. #6 by raven77 on Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 12:52 am

    This country has collapsed…….

  7. #7 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 7:22 am

    Most Malaysians now do not trust UMNO, MCA, MIC etc of the Barisan nASIONAL!

    But we have to show this contempt at the ballot box. BN must be made to bite the dust.

  8. #8 by k1980 on Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 10:07 am

    In the 2004 general election, the MCA contested 10 parliamentary seats with a Chinese majority of over 70 per cent, of which nine were won by DAP.

    http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/newsncom.php?itemid=8465

  9. #9 by badak on Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 12:07 pm

    This E-KESIHATAN scam just show how corruptted and out right scumb of the lowers order the BN GOVERMENT has become,This is just one of many proposal which was given by man on the street to the goverment which was later hijacked and passed to their cronies to made a fast bug.

    Read in the papers a few months, ago about a lady who proposed the INTERNATIONAL FIRE WORKS COMPETION, which was held recently.Her conpany did all the paper work and summited it to the goverment but to her surprise ,Another company was given the contract to do the job, Three times the amount she quoted.

    I bet there are alot of projects out there being hijacked by this greedy people in power.Only the big ones are highlighted what about the small ones.Is there a body out there to help people like that.

  10. #10 by fm2 on Sunday, 23 September 2007 - 4:27 pm

    really sick of this bodohland,
    all the useless so called ‘programs’ launch by the stpud ppl just for the sack of making money, we pay so much tax but wht we got in the end?

    they only think just launch the stpuid program then earn money, does it really benefit to the country.

    one of my fren told me about the NS, they just basically go there eat, play and sleep. wht do they play? play ball like circus, is that training that can really benefit to them or the whole nation? useless leader, useless teacher that only for the sack of sucking our hard earn money.

    each day getting more ‘du lan’ each time reading all this news.

  11. #11 by justiciary on Monday, 24 September 2007 - 12:02 pm

    Be united and throw out this bunch of the most hypocritical and insincere so called leaders.Discard this human garbage asap for the sake of the future of the nation.Every time come Merdeka,these idiots claim that they are patriotic and yet they are the most unpatriotic and they are the very ones who betray the trust given by the rakyat.Hell to these invisible thieves and robbers of the nation.

  12. #12 by 1eyecls on Monday, 24 September 2007 - 11:06 pm

    they are not invisible,they did it openly!like the recent incidents revealed by Auditor General,is the 50th episodes alredy,year in year out,happy go lucky,semua orang pun rasuah,sama-2 cari makan!everybody says:no one can touch me!

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