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KUALA LUMPUR: Expatriates in Malaysia are not allowed to leave the country for vacation, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
He said those who disregard this order and still choose to go on holiday overseas would not be allowed re-entry until a future date that will be announced by the government.
Ismail said this is consistent with the standard operating procedure (SOP) being implemented on locals here, which similarly disallows a citizen to cross borders, other than for work and education.
“In our (special Cabinet committee on Covid-19) meeting today, we decided not to allow anyone to leave on vacation, including expatriates.
“If they insist on leaving, then we will not allow them to re-enter Malaysia, until a future date. We have to be fair to our own rakyat who are similarly banned from travelling overseas (for holidays),” he said in Parliament, here, today.
“They (Malaysians) are only allowed to leave for education, for example, but not for vacation. So the same rule applies to the expatriates,” he added.
Ismail said the decision was made following various applications from expatriates in the Employment Pass 1 (EP) category — those in top management positions in companies — who have been allowed to enter Malaysia without immigration approval since June 19.
Separately, Ismail reminded all students who are returning to school tomorrow to abide by all the SOPs implemented in the school, to avoid any possibilities of a new wave of Covid-19 infection.
He urged parents to not send their children to school if they show any symptoms, and reminded all quarters not to take the matter lightly.
“Recently, Hong Kong was forced to reimplement movement control following an increase in Covid-19 cases, with schools and 12 economic sectors being shut down.
“It is now our shared responsibility to protect our family and the community. Everyone needs to comply by all the SOPs, because we don’t want a situation where we are forced to reimplement the movement control order,” he said.
