RMCO: Govt mulling allowing teachers to return to their hometowns

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will consider allowing teachers from the Peninsula working in Sabah and Sarawak and vice versa to return to their hometowns as face-to-face school sessions are only expected to start early next year.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the matter would be discussed with the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) so that those who were single and with family could return to their hometowns.

"Inter-state crossings have their exceptions, apart from emergencies, teachers who are under PJJ (long-distance communication) are indeed allowed to return home to visit their families with the permission of the police.

"But for those who are single, we will tell the MOE (Ministry of Education) to discuss with the PDRM to also allow them to return (to their hometowns) and there is no need for them to be there (at the teaching place)," he said at a press conference on the development of the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), here, today.

He, however, said that for teachers who want to return to their hometowns, they could go to the nearest police station to apply for permission for inter-state travel.

Prior to this, all face-to-face sessions for schools and institutions of higher learning across the country were postponed until January next year following the spread of COVID-19.

Accordingly, learning and teaching activities are only being held online.

In the meantime, Ismail Sabri said the National Security Council (MKN) was scrutinising the standard operating procedures (SOP) with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to allow tourism activities between green areas in the country.

‘’For example, the people of Sabak Bernam want to visit Langkawi and vice versa. Both are green areas, so the police must provide a letter of permission to determine they are genuinely from green areas. We are studying all these,’’ he said.

He, however, said for all states under Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), even if they are in green areas like Langkawi, they must comply with the SOP which have been set including the number of individuals allowed in a car by the government if they want to embark on tourism activities in the areas in question.

Ismail Sabri said if COVID-19 cases in certain states dropped and were under control and changed into green areas, the states would be taken out of the CMCO list if the stipulated periods ended.

‘’If this happens, tourism activities can be conducted as normal without following the conditions of the CMCO,’’ he added.

-- BERNAMA