KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): Joint management bodies (JMB) or management corporations (MC) of apartments and condominiums should seek legal opinion before taking action in requesting tenants of the apartments or condominiums to present their Covid-19 swab test results before allowing them to enter their premises, said Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers (MIPFM).

In a media statement today, its president Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin (pictured) said currently, there are no such legal provisions to facilitate the management to carry out such action.

“[We] strongly recommend our members and generally all related practitioners, JMB and MC to refrain from doing so.

Unless there is a directive in the form of an official SOP (standard operating procedure) issued either by the National Security Council (MKN) and/or Ministry of Housing and Local Government, property managers, JMB and MC should first seek legal opinion before taking such action,” he stressed.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a daily media briefing on Jan 28, said JMB and MC of apartments and condominiums could request tenants to go for Covid-19 swab tests, and tenants who fail to present their test results may be denied from entering their homes.

He noted JMC and MC could make such a rule to protect the health safety of the community and MKN will not stop them from doing so. However, he also added that MKN does not have such a policy.

Ismail Sabri was responding to a media query on a case where a condominium in Kuala Lumpur has put up a banner to request the foreign residents of the property to take a swab test, or they might be barred from entering the premises.

The incident has spurred public concern on whether JMB or MC has such power to request tenants to do so.

Meanwhile, Infectious diseases consultant Datuk Dr Christopher Lee raised his concerns on his social media platform, saying that strict compliance to the SOP in all common areas are more important and effective in curbing the spread of Covid-19.

He questioned the efficacy of requesting tenants to go for swab tests, as it would have to be done repeatedly; and if they were tested positive and couldn’t be sent to quarantine centres, would they also be barred from quarantine at home.

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