“The factories that are producing daily essential products such as food are still not closed in Singapore. So they (Malaysians) are still working there,” he said at the daily press briefing on the movement control order.

However, Ismail said the government already had a preliminary plan for any mass return of Malaysians from the republic.

“But in the future, we don’t know (because) we have many Malaysians working in Singapore. Human Resources Minister (M Saravanan) will discuss with his Singaporean counterpart, so that the entry will be done in stages and not all at once,” he said.

As agreed between Malaysia and Singapore, he said that Singaporean employers or the Singapore government were responsible for the welfare of Malaysians in terms of accommodation and food.

“As long as the factories (in Singapore) are not closed, no large groups are back at the same time. Only about 200 people return from Singapore to Malaysia per day via Johor Bahru. So far, those who have returned will have to undergo compulsory quarantine in Johor Bahru, either at a hotel or other centres,” he said.

Yesterday, 11 Malaysians were among the 623 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Singapore. So far, the republic has recorded 5,050 positive cases.

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