Tan Sri Azmi Khalid says his firm was 'uncomfortable' with the lack of a contract for processing foreign worker visa, which critics say smacks of cronyism by Putrajaya. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 4, 2015.A private firm which was tasked with processing biometric data for foreign workers' visas said there was no contract with Putrajaya as the government wanted to test the system first.Bestinet Sdn Bhd executive chairman, Tan Sri Azmi Khalid said the Putrajaya had wanted "proof of concept" when it presented its proposal to implement the Foreign Workers Centralised management System's (FWCMS)."I was not comfortable with the lack of contract, but the government wants proof of concept, we thought it was on paper but the relevant officers want to see it the implementation process, so we have to physically implement the system."We hope to have a contract soon," Azmi, a former home minister, said at a press conference today.The FWCMS conducts biometric health checks and processes the Visa with Reference or e-VDR for foreign workers, as well as e-insurance.The system was suspended by the Immigration Department late last month following criticism from foreign governments and employment agencies, as well as by opposition politicians who warned that the possession of foreign workers' biometric data would pose a security hazard.The contract for the system had been outsourced to Bestinet, which had come under the spotlight because of Azmi's position as a former minister.Another of its directors was previous director of the Labour Department, Datuk Tengku Omar Tengku Bot, leading to accusations of cronyism by critics.The FWCMS had been criticised by foreign employment agency operators in Indonesia and Nepal who have threatened to stop sending workers to Malaysia.Azmi said the system received warm response from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak when they presented the proposal to him in 2011.FWCMS, which Azmi said was "the best" for migrant workers' protection and had received much interest from foreign countries, was able to slash the time needed to process visas for foreign workers from three months to 48 hours, and also offered insurance protection for the workers."When the PM first saw our proposal, he was very interested but he said 'if you can do it, I will support you but you have to prove you can do it'."We worked on this for five years to develop a holistic system. Other countries are interested but they want to see it first implemented in Malaysia," he said.Allaying fears of increased costs, Azmi said to date, the company has yet to impose charges, and is leaving it to the government to decide on the matter."We will not be charging workers or employers but will instead charge medical centres who use our system if the government allows us to do it."The charges at the source countries' medical centres will be approved by their respective governments."He said the FWCMS had a top-notch security system and that there should be no worries over possible leakages of sensitive information, which critics said could compromise workers' personal security."All the data belonged to the goverment, it does not allow us to erase, add or change a single number or alphabet, it all belongs to the government," he said.With the status of the system still up in the air, Azmi said he hoped the government would lift the suspension soon, but ruled out any legal action if the government vetoed the system."Please, we are serious business people, we have developed a system that is found nowhere in the world, the government should be proud and help us," he said.Azmi said Bestinet had started off with RM2 as paid up capital which had now grown to RM5 million.He said the company comprised of experienced people, including himself who was headed the home ministry overseeing the Immigration Department."I have experience in the ministry, I know the problems faced by the government. The government tried many times to change the system but it was just piecemeal resulting in difficulties in stemming the influx of illegal foreign workers to Malaysia," he said.He denied that Bestinet was a crony company out to monopolise an important part of the government's public delivery system."We do not monopolise, we are just giving a service, providing a system for employers and ensuring that workers are not exploited," he said. – February 4, 2015.
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