Workers can't be forced to take unpaid leave for quarantine: Ismail

Employers cannot ask their staff members who cross state or district borders to take unpaid leave to undergo quarantine, emphasised Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

"That (forcing them to take leave) is not permitted. Based on the regulations that have been issued by the National Security Council (NSC), citizens who return from overseas must be quarantined for 14 days. 

"Malaysians who return to Sabah and Sarawak from the Peninsula are also required to undergo a compulsory quarantine," Ismail (above) said in his daily press conference in Putrajaya today.

However, in the Peninsula, while interstate and interdistrict travels are not permitted, there are those who have obtained permission from the police to return, and it's not required of them to undergo the 14-day quarantine.

"So it's only the employers that are requiring it of their own accord and it is wrong for them to count the 14 days of quarantine as unpaid leave, according to the NSC guidelines. 

"Therefore the Human Resources Ministry can take action against them." 

Separately, Ismail confirmed that the 56 Malaysian personnel who had been sent to the Armed Forces' Malaysian Field Hospital (MFH) in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on a humanitarian mission in February have returned to Malaysia to help combat the Covid-19 outbreak here.

Ismail also announced that between March 18 and June 3, police have probed 572 cases of cheating involving online sales of face masks, with losses amounting to RM5.5 million.

This had occurred mainly through Facebook and Whatsapp. The investigations resulted in 181 arrests, with 53 individuals having been charged in court, he said.

On the issue of fake news related to Covid-19, Ismail said that until June 4, 266 investigations had been opened by the police and the MCMC.

"Of those, 179 are still under investigation, 30 have resulted in court charges, 11 have been given warning notices and 18 have admitted their guilt," he said.

He added that there were no new cases reported over the past 10 days by the police and the MCMC showing that the awareness of society has increased over the spread of false information.

A total of 317 disclaimers and explanations on Covid-19 have been issued by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry's Quick Response Team.

Ismail reminded people to be careful before spreading any suspicious content, advising them to contact the Quick Response Team at 03-89115103 or check the Sebenarnya website first to verify the information.

He also announced that the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had checked a total of 6,559 construction sites to date, and 5,050 of them have yet to resume operation.

He said that 1,211 of the operating sites were found to have complied with the standard operating procedure (SOP), while 288 sites have failed to do so and were issued warnings.

Additionally, 10 sites were ordered to shut down for SOP violations, Ismail added. - Mkini