Transport minister urges commercial vehicle drivers to make RM30 health screening count as fewer than 20 sign up

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Fewer than 20 commercial vehicle drivers have taken up the government’s subsidised health screening programme since it was launched last month, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said today.

Loke said the response to the Pemandu Sihat dan Selamat (PSS) initiative remained low despite eligible drivers having to pay only RM30 for a comprehensive health examination, with the Social Security Organisation (Socso) subsidising the remaining RM55.

“I was informed a few days ago that not even 20 people had participated within the one-month period that we had planned,” he said in his speech at the Transport Ministry’s monthly assembly and launch of its National Month celebrations here.

The initiative, launched on June 30 and implemented from July 1, targets about 30,000 commercial vehicle drivers aged between 40 and 59 in its initial phase.

Loke said the programme was aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of drivers, particularly those responsible for carrying passengers and operating commercial vehicles.

“When we look after the welfare of drivers, we are actually looking after the safety of road users,” he said.

Speaking to reporters later, Loke said the low participation could be because the programme was still new and greater awareness was needed among drivers.

He said the government had deliberately reduced the cost of the health screening to RM30 through the Socso subsidy, but drivers had yet to take advantage of the initiative.

“It is a good programme that offers subsidies and we have reduced the cost to only RM30 for drivers to pay, but not many have taken the initiative or responded to it,” he said.

Loke urged drivers, particularly older ones, to undergo comprehensive health screenings to identify potential health problems early.

He said conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes could go undetected if drivers did not undergo proper medical examinations.

Loke said the initiative was also aimed at addressing shortcomings in the existing health certification process for commercial drivers.

While health examinations have long been mandatory, drivers previously only had to submit a medical examination form certified by a doctor or clinic when renewing their vocational licences.

He said this made it difficult to determine whether a thorough physical examination had actually been carried out or not.

“We are not saying it was not done, but it simply could not be determined whether a thorough examination had been conducted,” he said.

Under the new system, doctors at participating clinics will key in their findings directly into an online system, which will then be integrated with JPJ’s MySikap platform.

This means drivers’ health reports will be available when they renew their licences, eliminating reliance on physical forms.

The programme was launched in collaboration with the Human Resources Ministry, Socso, JPJ and the Malaysian Medical Association.

The initial phase involves 500 participating clinics and is scheduled to run from July to December.

The government has allocated RM12.4 million for the programme, including RM7 million from Socso and RM5.4 million from the Finance Ministry.

Loke said the government hoped more drivers would take advantage of the programme and undergo proper health checks rather than simply having forms certified.

“Usually, drivers will just take the form to be certified by doctors. We hope to change that so that they undergo a thorough check-up and find out whether they have any health conditions,” he said.