Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has responded to allegations that private insurers are going to profit from participating in the mySalam takaful scheme aimed at low-income individuals.
In a statement, the MoF denied the allegations put forward in an article published by the Sinar Harian newspaper, which called mySalam a “get rich quick scheme” for Great Eastern Holdings, the Singaporean insurer that donated MYR2 billion (US$478 million) as seed funding for the health takaful programme.
“There is no profit element for any insurance companies through mySalam,” the MoF statement said. “Any remaining unclaimed premium paid to the takaful company and accrued interest from savings, will be fully reimbursed to the mySalam Trust Fund.
“The cynical allegations in an opinion article published by Sinar Harian are absolutely false.”
The mySalam scheme provides an MYR8,000 (around US$2,000) lump sum payment if beneficiaries are diagnosed with any of 36 critical illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, muscular dystrophy, and Alzheimer’s, a New Straits Times report said. It also provides a daily hospitalisation allowance of MYR50, up to a maximum of MYR700 a year.
