KUALA LUMPUR – The directors on the board of ProtectHealth Corporation Sdn Bhd (ProtectHealth) do not get salary or allowances, says the Health Ministry (MoH).
According to a 1985 circular on the guidelines for the appointment and role of government officials as chairman, chief executive and board member of public corporations and government-interest companies, MoH said civil servants are allowed to become part of the board of directors of government-owned companies.
In a statement today, MoH said that includes becoming the chairman of the board.
“ProtectHealth is a non-profit company which coordinates, administers and manages initiatives relating to financing health care services as mandated by MoH.
“The governance of this entity is monitored by the Governance, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (GMEC) whose members consist of representatives from the Accountant-General’s Department, legal adviser, MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), office of the health minister, and academics.
“The board of directors (BoD) is not paid any salary or allowances,” it said.
The ProtectHealth BoD has five members and is chaired by Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Previously, the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPK) said retail workers will be charged RM50 for a complete Covid-19 vaccination, of which RM30 is reportedly used to pay ProtectHealth Corporation for vaccination administration.
The association added that the fee will be charged for vaccinating each individual with two doses of either the Sinovac or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Both vaccines and AstraZeneca are provided for free in the government’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).
The association added that the remaining RM20 per person is for logistic expenditure (RM10 per dose).
However, according to a report by a health portal, ProtectHealth denied collecting payments from malls rolling out Covid-19 vaccination drives with vaccinators from ProtectHealth.
On Tuesday, the association maintained that ProtectHealth is charging a RM30 fee per person for complete Covid-19 vaccination at shopping centres.
It added that several meetings were held with the authorities on the public-private sector partnership with the vaccines being provided by the government free of charge, but the malls are paying fees to the non-profit company for the doctors, nurses and medical officers along with other antecedent costs. – The Vibes, June 3, 2021
