Overnight stay for Raya celebration violates MCO

PUTRAJAYA, 22 May 2020:

Spending the night is considered a violation of the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the government for Aidilfitri visits, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said, under the SOP, this activity was only allowed for the first day.

“If Hari Raya falls on the 24th, if a person sleeps there beyond 12.01am, that makes it the 25th, and he wants to continue celebrating the next day, so that is violating the SOP,” he said in a press conference on the Movement Control Order here today.

Commenting on the process of sending tertiary students home, Ismail Sabri said it will be continued after Aidilfitri on May 28.

A total of 1,722 students are scheduled to be sent home in three flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu and three more flights from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur, he said.

He said on Thursday, May 21, the Ministry of Higher Education sent 894 students on two flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and two flights from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu.

From April 27 until May 21, the ministry have sent a total of 51,352 tertiary students who were staying in their campuses back to their families, said Ismail Sabri.

On Malaysians overseas who want to return home, he said the Malaysian embassies overseas were allowing them to fill the documents online.

“Other than the form to return to the country, Malaysian citizens can also fill a declaration form to pay 50% of the hotel charges imposed on those who undergo mandatory quarantine upon arriving here.

“So there is no need to worry about having to travel far to go to the Malaysian embassies because everything can be done online.”

Ismail Sabri said if there was no need or urgency to return, it was better that they remained in the countries they are in now.

On Thursday, 913 Malaysians returned home and underwent mandatory quarantine. As of today, 30,976 individuals had completed the mandatory quarantine and allowed to go home, he said.

– Bernama