KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Companies are not allowed to make their employees undergo mandatory 14-day self-quarantine after interstate travel, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said that although some states like Sabah and Sarawak required travellers from peninsula Malaysia to complete a 14-day quarantine, this was not a requirement following interstate or inter-district travel within peninsula Malaysia.
“Even though we do not allow interstate travel without permission here in the peninsula, there may be some cases involving those who do it with police permission. They are not required to undergo any quarantine. Only those who return from abroad are required to do so.
“So I think this is employers who have taken it upon themselves to introduce these requirements but it is not part of our guidelines. It is wrong not only to force them to quarantine for 14 days but also take unpaid leave or annual leave,” he said.
During his daily press briefing, Ismail Sabri was asked to comment on certain employers who have required their staff to go on a 14-day quarantine upon returning from another district or state whether for work or personal reasons. There were also cases of the period being deducted from their annual leave or being categorised as unpaid leave.
Ismail Sabri said this might contravene some labour or human resources law and if true, action would be taken against the employers.
