Former prime minister Najib Razak has questioned the government over its decision to cease the 14-day mandatory quarantine for travellers from Sabah who test negative for Covid-19, effective Nov 25.
In a Facebook post, Najib said he will give the benefit of the doubt that the decision was made for the right reasons.
“I hope that there is no political motive because there are still MPs in Sabah who may be barred from voting for the 2021 budget because of the quarantine period.
“If that is true, I would rather have the voting day for the 2021 budget be postponed instead,” he said, referring to the budget voting session that is expected to be held on Nov 25.
Najib disputed the rationale for the lifting of the mandatory quarantine requirement, saying that despite the number of new Covid-19 cases in Sabah showing a downward trend since last week, the number of cases detected for “other screening categories” remained high.
“In my opinion, cases from such categories are the most dangerous because it is not related to any identified clusters and each case from this category is capable of producing a new cluster.
“Although Selangor recorded a very high number of new cases yesterday (1,203) compared with Sabah (289), the number of cases recorded from the other screening categories was 27 (in Selangor) compared with 73 in Sabah,” he said.
The health ministry today announced that the 14-day mandatory quarantine for all persons arriving from Sabah will cease with effect from Nov 25.
In a statement, the ministry said anyone intending to leave Sabah only needs to go for a swab test three days prior to their scheduled departure. All those who test negative will be allowed to leave the state.
“For those who test positive for Covid-19, they will be referred to the hospital for isolation, treatment and monitoring. Individuals showing symptoms will be referred for further examination,” the ministry said. – FMT