KUALA LUMPUR: More companies will soon provide Covid-19 screening services at Malaysia’s airports, effectively ending the current monopoly held by a private healthcare firm, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

       Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali (pic) said Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) has started a new procurement process by tender to identify additional companies that will perform the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) screening tests.

       “It is expected that the decision will be finalised soon,” he said when winding up ministerial replies on the motion of thanks in Parliament on Wednesday (March 16).

       Currently, private Covid-19 screening provider BP Healthcare is the sole company handling Covid-19 RT-PCR screening services, which are mandatory for all incoming travellers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and klia2.

       Dr Noor Azmi said that BP Healthcare was appointed based on the open tender process by MAHB, whereby the charges for the Covid-19 tests had already been agreed upon.

       This was in reply to Tiong King Sing (GPS-Bintulu) who asked why Covid-19 screening services at KLIA and klia2 were handled by a single private healthcare company, effectively granting it a monopoly.

       He also questioned the high price of the RT-PCR test as other countries such as China charged less.

       “We shouldn’t have a monopoly. Why can’t other labs come in and provide Covid-19 tests at the airport? Why does one person has to pay RM300 to RM400 for the test?

       “It should be opened up to more companies so that the price of the RT-PCR tests would be more competitive,” said Tiong.

       To a question by Datuk Seri Salim Sharif (BN-Jempol) on whether the government intended to lower the price of RT-PCR tests at private clinics as it could cost a few hundred ringgit, Dr Noor Azmi said that Malaysians should only take RT-PCR tests in specific situations such as pre-travelling abroad.

       He said Malaysians should rely more on the Antigen Rapid Test Kits (RTK-Ag) to screen for Covid-19 as the country transitions into an endemic phase.

       "The RT-PCR tests are more costly, and by contrast, the RTK-Ag self-test kits are cheaper and more easily available.

       "According to experts, the RTK-Ag tests are sufficient to detect positive cases with higher infectivity rates, compared to the RT-PCR tests that are more sensitive," he said.

       Dr Noor Azmi said even people who have recovered from their infection could still test positive under the RT-PCR tests.

       He also stressed that those who tested positive for Covid-19 through self-test kits do not have to undergo the RT-PCR tests to verify the results.

       Instead, they should start undergoing quarantine as soon as possible once they tested positive.

       The RT-PCR tests will, however, remain in place for travellers coming into Malaysia, said Dr Noor Azmi.