THE government should bear the costs for quarantine and treatment of Malaysian workers who want to return from Singapore, said two Johor MPs.

“Many Malaysians are now forced to return because of safety or financial problems,” said Akmal Nasir (Johor Baru-PH) in a press conference in Parliament today.

He said these are the Malaysians who were stuck in Singapore after they were retrenched following the border closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic on March 18.

“There is also a group of our citizens who could not return since March because they did not have money.

“The RM2,100 cost is very high for them. We hope that the government can consider bearing the costs for them,” said the PKR Youth chief.

Last week, the government announced that Malaysians returning to the country from abroad would have to bear the cost of quarantine lodgings and food at a designated centre for 14 days.

Meanwhile, Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub (Pulai-PH) wanted to know why the Sarawak government could cover the cost of quarantine for state citizens, but the federal government could not do so for Malaysians entering the peninsula.

According to the two MPs, the Malaysians who work in Singapore are mostly from lower income groups.

“This can be seen in the 300,000 motorcyclists who travel to work in Singapore each day (before the movement control order),” said Salahuddin.

“Why do we want them to incur more costs?” – August 3, 2020.