30 per cent work from office rule to be abolished April 1 - Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30  – The National Security Council (MKN) has decided that effective April 1, the ruling allowing only 30 per cent of employees to work from office in Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) areas will be abolished.

 Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this decision was taken on the recommendation of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to allow management and supervisory groups of companies to operate at the maximum level.

He said one justification for this was that the work from home order was difficult to be implemented by manufacturing companies as their operations could not be conducted remotely.

“Apart from this, manufacturing operations frequently involve complex and technical processes requiring the presence of different management and supervisory teams working together at the same time.

“This directive is effective April 1 and further information on the standard operating procedure (SOP) is available on the MKN website,” he told a press conference on developments regarding the Movement Control Order (MCO) here today.

Ismail Sabri said the level of office attendance for civil servants would be subject to circulars and directives of the Public Service Department (JPA) while the private sector is allowed to have 100 per cent of their staff working from office for the management, supervisory, operation and support divisions.

Meanwhile, he said the government had decided to allow domestic maids with visas who are stranded in their home countries following border closures to return to work in Malaysia.

He said they needed to apply for permission via the My Travel Pass.

“After obtaining approval, they have to undergo screening tests and compulsory quarantine according to the set SOP, while their employers have to bear the quarantine costs,” he said.

On the appeal of the Association of Foreign Maid Agencies, Ismail Sabri said the government also decided to allow the processing of applications for recruitment of maids by these agencies.

“However, entry into Malaysia is subject to the opening of the country's borders or the consent of the Home Ministry,” he added.

Asked on allegations that the government was compromising with celebrities who allegedly violated CMCO SOP by crossing state borders, he said anyone who saw such offences could report to the authorities for action to be taken.

"As I have said before, no one is above the law regardless of their status or position. Anyone who violates SOP will face action,” he said.

He was also asked to comment on calls for the compulsory deployment of teams to monitor SOP compliance at public functions like wedding receptions, as such events were said to have caused the spread of COVID-19 infections.

"The government has eased restrictions on organising such functions but with strict adherence to tight conditions,” he said.

He said the organisers were required to provide the necessary equipment such as MySejahtera code scanner, gadgets for checking temperatures and sanitisers, apart from ensuring physical distancing for those in attendance.

Members of the Malaysian Volunteers Department (Rela) would be present to monitor compliance for events held in public halls or kampung area whereas hotels would deploy their own personnel for such duties, he said.

-- BERNAMA