PETALING JAYA: An exemption from the mandatory 14-day quarantine should be granted to those entering Malaysia under special circumstances, said Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
Its commissioner, Jerald Joseph (pix) said such an allowance should only be given provided that protocols for safeguarding oneself and others against Covid-19 are strictly observed.
He pointed out that the quarantine requirement is meant to ensure safety.
Joseph said this in reference to the case of Gregory Vijayendran who was unable to come from Singapore to attend his brother Emmanuel’s funeral recently.
Emmanuel passed away on Sept 18 and Vijayendran immediately made arrangements to travel to Kuala Lumpur to be with his family.
“I submitted all the relevant documents, complete with an explanation to the Immigration Department in the hope that I would be allowed to enter Malaysia,” he told theSun last week.
He had sought an exemption from the 14-day quarantine to enable him and his wife to attend the funeral service.
By Sept 21, when he had still not received a response from the department, Vijayendran sent a reminder and followed it with emails. Yet, there was continued silence.
In the end, he had to resort to “attending” his brother’s wake and funeral through a “live” video call.
Vijayendran said exemptions should be given on compassionate grounds.
“A bereavement is a life-changing and emotionally devastating experience for the surviving family members. We are already separated as we grapple with the impact of Covid-19. All that my wife and I wanted was to be present in body and spirit to give my brother a final send-off.”
Joseph said that there had been several cases of people not being allowed to enter Malaysia even to attend to emergency situations.
However, he agreed that such restrictions have been imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. Nevertheless, he said in a case such as Vijayendran’s, it becomes “pointless” to return home if one cannot do anything for 14 days.
But for Vijayendran, worse than not being given an exemption is the fact that he did not even get a response from the Immigration Department.
“I would have appreciated a reply. We were on tenterhooks, wondering if we would get the green light so we could catch a flight to be in time for the noon funeral.”
