Fomema Invests RM3m on Systems Upgrade

Pantai Holdings Bhd subsidiary Fomema Sdn Bhd will invest in a RM3 million new integrated on-line system (NIOS), which will enable wider public access to its registration process for the medical examination of foreign workers. NIOS will also allow Fomema’s panel of doctors, laboratories and medical facilities to collaborate on foreign workers’ medical examination results electronically over the web.

The system would be implemented over the next three months, which will include application software, server hardware, wide area network infrastructure equipment and off-site disaster recovery systems.

Speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony between Fomema, DBIX Systems Sdn Bhd and Hewlett-Packard Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (HP) in Subang Jaya on July 1, Fomema chairman Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Mahmood said with NIOS, waiting time at its counters would be reduced by 50% in future.

Fomema holds a 15-year concessionaire to carry out monitoring and supervision of medical examination of all legal foreign workers in Malaysia. It has examined 900,000 individuals this year.

Subsequent results are transmitted to the Immigration Department and Ministry of Health.

Fomema is also in the final stages of negotiations with several solutions provider for short messaging service (SMS) system, through which employers can check on the medical status of their foreign workers.

Meanwhile, HP country general manager Badlisham Ghazali told FinancialDaily that HP would bring its capabilities to other countries that needed such solutions, upon the successful implementation of NIOS here.

He said of its RM1.4 billion business in Malaysia, about 75% was derived from various partnerships such as the one with Fomema and DBIX Systems.

The Edge Daily.com
2 July 2004