KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — The government will enforce work-from-home rules for employees at the management and supervisory levels across the private and public sectors in the Klang Valley, Sabah, and Labuan from October 22.
Senior Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the work-from-home rule — which is expected to involve 800,000 private sector workers and 200,000 civil servants in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Sabah, and Labuan — will last until the end of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in those areas.
“So, for example Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan, [the CMCO] is until October 27. If it ends, then [the work-from-home] policy will end. But if [the CMCO] is extended for another two weeks, and another two weeks, and another two weeks, then only the work-from-home rule will end,” Ismail Sabri told a press conference today.
“We don’t know yet if we will extend the CMCO. For Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan, it will end on October 27. Sabah’s CMCO also has a set end date, but we don’t know. Things may change from time to time.”
The CMCO in Sabah, the current Covid-19 epicentre in Malaysia, is set to end on October 26, while movement restrictions in Labuan are scheduled to end on October 30.
Workers living in red zones, who are unable to work from home, must get a Covid-19 swab test before going to work in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Sabah, or Labuan. Those who live outstation, but work in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Sabah, or Labuan, do not have to get tested.
Testing costs for Social Security Organisation (Socso) contributors will be borne by Socso. Red zones are areas declared by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to have reported more than 40 local Covid-19 cases in the past fortnight.
All foreign workers across sectors in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Sabah, and Labuan must also do another swab test before going to work. Socso will bear testing costs for its contributors.
Ismail Sabri said the work-from-home rule was made at the heels of official reports of nine Covid-19 clusters from workplaces in Selangor.
“We noticed there are workers from red zones who have to go to work.”
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry will release details on the type of occupations and standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to the work-from-home rule in the nearest time.
