In today’s live press conference by Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, a media representative asked why office staff had to work from home while shopping malls and markets remained open.
“How come only office staff and employees of certain sectors have to work from home? Many have questioned why shopping malls and markets can remain open while offices remain closed.”
To this, Ismail Sabri responded by saying that the objective of the work from home order was to limit the movement of people who come into close contact with one another. “One million people are affected by this order and will not be in close contact as they won’t be going to their offices. It will help break the chain of infection by minimising the risk of spreading the virus,” said the Defence Minister.
“Sure you can say markets and shopping malls are still open but it’s up to us as individuals if we’re going to use these facilities without prioritising our health,” added Ismail Sabri. The minister said there was a division between the people who could work remotely and those who needed to be at their work premises in order to do their job and certain industries can’t be closed down as these provide incomes to others.
“Of course, service staff like salesmen, waitresses and waiters can’t work from home so that’s why we cannot insist that they do. We can only limit the movement of those who can work remotely,” said the minister.
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