KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): The relaxed three-day quarantine for cabinet ministers returning from foreign travel may be made available to business travellers and members of the public next, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (pictured) told Malaysiakini in an interview yesterday.

Dr Adham explained to the news portal that the three-day quarantine currently only applies to Malaysian ministers “if they follow a strict rules during their overseas trips that minimises exposure to the Covid-19 virus”.

"We start with ministers first because it is easy to make an order before we open it up to the public... maybe businesspersons," he said.

The three-day quarantine made available to ministers only had come under fire from various quarters, with even personalities from opposing political ideologies such as DAP stalwart Lim Guan Eng and former PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak questioning the logic of the relaxed ruling.

Meanwhile, The Malaysian Bar said the exemption for Cabinet Ministers returning from overseas official visits from the need to undergo a 10-day quarantine is a violation of the people’s “constitutional right of quality under the law”.

The Malaysian Health Coalition said yesterday that the justification provided by health minister Datuk Seri Adham Baba “does not sufficiently explain the rationale, science, evidence or even facts” behind the decision for the three-day quarantine.

Dr Adham said the “reason the government is doing this is to make sure we can open up our economy”.

"Normally we ask for a swab test for three days before departure plus seven days of quarantine in our country. So that's three plus seven.

"If they don't do a swab test before departure, they have to get a negative swab test at the international entry point and quarantine for 10 days.

"That's why investors don't come, foreign leaders don't visit... and because of that investments don't come in," said the health minister.

He added that foreign dignitaries and businesspersons will also have to go through “stringent itineraries if they are to be allowed the relaxed quarantine”.

Dr Adham also told Malaysiakini that the 10-day quarantine is based on clinical data, which he said was valid, but added that “this was not all about science”.

"This is not about science totally. This is about how we regulate who will go abroad.

"Abroad, they don't have to quarantine, but they have to quarantine when they return. This is not fair," he said.

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