B40 students returning from abroad exempted from quarantine costs

Malaysian students from the B40 group who are returning from abroad and can’t pay the quarantine costs will be exempted from doing so, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said those who were already in the country could appeal to the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) while those arriving from now onwards would be sent to the Public Training Institute (ILA) where they will be quarantined for free.

This decision was made during the Special Ministerial Meeting on the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) today, he told a media briefing on the recovery MCO in Parliament.

Ismail said those who were sponsored or took loans or scholarships to study abroad, the quarantine costs would have to be borne by the sponsors.

“Yesterday, there were reports about students returning from Yemen loitering in the hotel area because they could not afford to pay the quarantine costs. So, the meeting today agreed for students from low-income families to be exempted from paying the costs, but those who can afford it must pay for themselves,” he said.

He urged students who will be returning from abroad to register with the Foreign Ministry by providing personal details and family backgrounds so that the ministry could inform Nadma.

“So when they arrive in Malaysia, we will already have their names and they will be sent straight to ILA. There’s no need to wait around at hotels like what happened yesterday,” he said.

-Bernama