Students can go home on Monday

PETALING JAYA: Students stuck in their campuses can make their way home beginning Monday, says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

However, this is only applicable to students whose family homes are located in green zones, he said.

He added that the travelling period for these students would be only from 9pm to 9am to ensure a controlled journey and to avoid mass movement while the movement control order (MCO), which has been extended to May 12, is in force.

“The movement of students will be done in stages and it only involves those in the green zones.

“Students will undergo screening for symptoms before boarding the buses and will be provided with food and a face mask.

“The number of students will also be halved, meaning if the bus can accommodate 40 people, there will only be 20 as we want to ensure the social distancing rules are complied with, ” said Ismail Sabri in his daily briefing yesterday.

Ismail Sabri added that these students would be taken to their respective district police stations or district offices nearest to their houses and be taken to their doorstep by the frontliners from various government agencies.

Students who have their own vehicles are allowed to drive on their own. However, no interstate travels are allowed in this situation.

“If a person studies in Selangor and wants to return to his home in the same state, then he can get permission from the police as well as his campus and drive on his own.

“They are not allowed to bring other people with them. They must drive home on their own, ” said Ismail Sabri.

For students from Sabah and Sarawak, the Defence Minister said they would be flown to the nearest airport.

Ismail Sabri said these students then must undergo a compulsory 14-day quarantine as imposed by their state government unless the standard operating procedure (SOP) there has been changed.

He also said that only 85% in higher learning institutions, or around 53,000 students, have agreed to go home while the remaining 15% said they wanted to stay back.

“Some campuses are providing online courses, some may be sitting for their exams or some feel they are not able to study back in their kampung because they don’t have Internet service.

“These students who choose to stay back will be taken care of and the government will continue to provide them food as usual, ” he added.

The cost to send the students home either by bus or to Sabah and Sarawak will also be borne by the government, he said.

When asked if students who are in the red zones are able to return to their homes in the green zones, Ismail Sabri said it was not allowed.

Students who are currently in the green zones are also prohibited from returning to their residences in the red zones.

“However, we are discussing to perhaps allow students who wish to return to their family in red zones to be sent to a relative’s home that is located in a green zone.

“For example, if they cannot go home to their parents, they can go to their siblings’ homes, etc.

“We are hoping to make this an option, ” he added.

Ismail Sabri said this was among the SOP that was proposed by Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad and was agreed in the special meetings held daily among ministers.

He also said there were some higher learning institutions under other ministries such as the Rural and Regional Development Ministry as well as Education Ministry.

The SOP, however, will be the same as the one set by the Higher Education Ministry.

Malaysian Highway Authority director-general Datuk Mohd Shuhaimi Hassan said the highway authority would work closely with the National Security Council (NSC).

“We will keep to the schedule set by NSC, and the highways throughout Malaysia will be operating as usual as directed by the NSC under the MCO.

“I advise those who are travelling to drive safely and to follow the guidelines set by the NSC and the conditions set by the Health Ministry, ” said Shuhaimi.

The authority also said that there was no need to worry about night-time travel for students on the highways as these roads were maintained as usual, even during the MCO period.

Meanwhile, on a separate issue, Ismail Sabri had clarified claims that welfare aid meant for families affected by the MCO were of low value.

He added that Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun said the Welfare Department’s aid collection operation centres also got contributions from non-governmental organisations.

“There is no set value for their contribution, so they can contribute food baskets worth RM30, RM50, RM100 or RM200. It is up to the NGOs.

“We were informed by the minister (Rina) that the aid distributed was not the food baskets from the Welfare Department, ” he said.

It was reported that DAP’s Rasah MP Cha Kee Chin had claimed the government-funded food packs delivered to his constituency were not worth RM100 per pack as promised.

Cha claimed his team found that the total value of each food pack was only around RM35. - Star