Bestinet denies involvement in visa processing fee hike

Bestinet Sdn Bhd (Bestinet), the solution provider for the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS), on Wednesday denied that they are responsible for the steep increase in the visa processing fee for Indonesian workers.

Bestinet in a statement said the holistic system was transparent, efficient and convenient.

It was also beneficial to all stakeholders involved in hiring foreign workers, especially the employers, foreign workers themselves, insurance providers and government agencies in Malaysia as well as in the source countries, said the statement.

"As such, Bestinet reiterates that the visa processing issue in Indonesia does not have anything to do with the company," it said.

FWCMS is a multi-touch point system, involving a full-fledged web-based online management system backed by a secure data processing management infrastructure developed for the government of Malaysia.

The statement said the two major modules under the FWCMS -- bio-medical and electronic application for Visa with Reference (eVDR) -- was fully operational starting Jan 15.

It said the bio-medical was implemented in the source countries whereas eVDR was implemented in Peninsular Malaysia.

"With the implementation of eVDR, the application of VDR is made online and the duration process of the visa approval is significantly shortened, which greatly benefits the employers," said the statement.

For more information on FWCMS, the statement said employers can contact the FWCMS Customer Service team at 03-8689 2822 or go online at www.fwcms.com.my.

An English daily yesterday reported that the 'calling visa' processing fee for Indonesian workers had surged from a mere RM15 to RM250 under a new system outsourced to a private company.

It also reported that the steep increase in visa fees had caught employers by surprise and angry employment agency operators had threatened to stop sending workers to Malaysia.

Immigration Department deputy director-general Datuk Sakib Kusmi said FWCMS was designed to improve efficiency in the process of getting foreign labour and was a 'one-stop centre' to handle various matters concerning foreigners including visa applications and biometric profiling.