Putrajaya looking to revise terms for Malaysians seeking to return from Singapore

CORONAVIRUS | Malaysians working in Singapore may want to put their plan to return home on hold as Putrajaya is looking at revising the terms.

At present, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the rule is for Malaysians to seek medical confirmation in Singapore of being free of Covid-19 before returning without having to be quarantined for 14 days.

Ismail, who is the senior minister coordinating security matters, said as of yesterday, only three Malaysians had crossed the border from Singapore into Johor.

"Our initial agreement with the Singapore government is that (those returning) must obtain a screening letter to show they are negative for Covid-19.

"But there are now some changes in terms of the agreement. We have asked our Foreign Ministry which has a working committee with the Singapore Foreign Ministry, together with representatives from the Human Resource Ministry, to negotiate the new terms.

"God-willing, during the meeting tomorrow, I believe the Foreign Ministry will convey the newly agreed terms," he told a press conference in Putrajaya this afternoon.

"For now, we are still not allowing Malaysians to enter the country until the negotiation between our Foreign Ministry and Singapore's Foreign Ministry is resolved. The Johor government is also involved," he added.

Malaysia has been under a partial lockdown, called the movement control order (MCO), since March 18.

Under the MCO, Malaysians are not allowed to leave the country and those abroad who return must be quarantined at a centralised facility for 14 days.

Malaysia had sought to give some leniency to Malaysians in Singapore by exempting the quarantine period if they can prove they are negative for Covid-19.

However, Ismail did not disclose what the new terms would be apart from that it would be discussed tomorrow. - Mkini