MINISTERS who want to have their quarantine period shortened to three days must strictly adhere to “travel bubble” conditions under Section 29 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (ACT 342), said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. 

The director-general of health said that ministers who failed to meet the requirements will have to undergo the compulsory 10 days of quarantine. 

“There are details that need to be clarified to get this bubble. If this is met, that is when we can consider three days of quarantine. 

“Before they depart, they would need to submit an application to the cabinet for approval and once it’s approved, we will look into the official business matters in their schedule as well as the standard operating procedure (SOP).

“The schedule must be short, tight and must not involve many people in public places,” Noor Hisham said at a press conference today when asked about the quarantine exception given to ministers.

The health director-general also said that one of the requirements was for the minister to travel by private jet and not by commercial flight. 

The three-day quarantine period will be ineligible if they travel by commercial flight and if any of the criteria is not met, then they must abide by the 10-day quarantine period, he added. 

Health Minister Adham Baba last night announced that cabinet members would only need to be quarantined for three days instead of the mandatory 10 upon their return from overseas.

Starting today, ministers returning from overseas official duties will be exempted from Section 15 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).

The order will be in force until August 1, 2021.

Noor Hisham, however, stressed that part of the gazette says that ministers could still be placed under longer quarantine, until they are found to no longer be a threat to the public. 

“In the order, besides the three-day quarantine there is an ‘or’ part, which is important because this allows one to be placed under quarantine or observation for seven, 14 or even up until 21 days,” he said. 

After the health minister signed the gazette, Malaysians, including politicians, have denounced the double standards applied to ministers. 

Social media today saw growing calls for the resignation of Adham Baba, who announced the exemption. – February 9, 2021.