“MALAYSIA is amazing!”

This was one of about 1,000 responses by Japanese social media users to a tweet praising Malaysia’s guidelines in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak.

They hailed Putrajaya’s move to issue an advisory via the Human Resources Ministry on February 6 to check the spread of the virus – first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan last December – in Malaysia.

The @kurakuranet account, whose owner is believed to be living in Malaysia, had retweeted the guidelines.

In response, a user said in Japanese: Malaysia’s policy protects the infected ... which is better as a nation.”

Under the guidelines, employers must instruct workers to undergo health checks immediately, at the former’s expense, as stipulated by Section 60F of the Employment Act 1955.

Employers must also provide paid sick leave or hospitalisation entitlement during the quarantine period to employees who receive quarantine orders.

And, companies are encouraged to provide extra remuneration to employees ordered to undergo quarantine for a period exceeding their sick leave or hospitalisation days.

“That’s wonderful,” said another Twitter user, expressing hope that the Japanese government will follow suit.

“This is how a country that is serious about preventing infections should be,” said another user.

“An example of risk management,” said yet another.

“This shows Malaysia knows (how) to value its national resources. In the end, the people are the most important resources of a country.”

Covid-19 has spread to more than two dozen countries.

In China, the death toll has topped 2,000, with more than 75,700 cases of infection recorded.

Some 16,100 people have recovered from the virus. – Bernama, February 20, 2020.