Malaysia orders nearly 1m people to work from home

Putrajaya

NEARLY one million private and public sector workers who are in the management and supervision categories in Selangor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya - which are under a conditional movement control order (MCO) - have been directed to work from home effective Oct 22.

Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this decision by the National Security Council is aimed to limit the movement of people and prevent new Covid-19 infections, The Star Online reported on Tuesday.

"This is a directive, not a proposal or a suggestion by the government. Workers in several categories will work from home. The full list of those affected, as well as standard operating procedures will be issued by the International Trade and Industry Ministry soon," he said on Tuesday. The public service director-general will issue a list for civil servants to refer to, he added.

The decision will affect around a million workers - 800,000 from the private sector, as well as 200,000 civil servants.

Mr Ismail Sabri said among employees who will have to continue to work from the office are those in the financial sector, enforcement, as well as welfare officers.

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"This directive to work from home depends on how long the area is under conditional MCO. Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will be under the order until Oct 27. If the order is not extended, then workers will only have to work from home for five days. If it is extended further, then this directive will have to be followed until the order is lifted," he said.

Those who have to go to the office will be required to undergo swab tests and Socso contributors will not have to pay for the test, he added.