1.2 million Malaysians allowed to work during total lockdown; Expect numbers to go up

As of noon on 1-June-2021, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has issued 95,142 company approvals to continue operations during the 2-week total lockdown until 14-June. This means that roughly 1.2 million workers are allowed to work at their respective premises. Expect the number to rise as more approvals roll out.

MITI said in a statement that 517,144 companies applied for permits to continue operations at workplaces but less than 100,000 were given approvals.

A MITI spokesman confirms with Free Malaysia Today (FMT), companies that have been rejected cannot reapply.

The ministry estimates that they have reduced about 2 million workers from the 3.2 million total workforces in the approved companies. But MITI is still processing applications, so the number might have increased since the ministry released its statement.

Also read: Traffic jam during total lockdown? It seems everybody in KL is an essential service worker

As of yesterday, MITI has also set up a special operation centre to ensure faster approvals and that the Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) 3.0 will run smoothly and avoid any downtimes.

Previously, users were having a hard time logging on to the various platforms to register their companies before the National Security Council (MKN) decided to return all approvals back under MITI’s jurisdiction.

Also read: Are you an essential services staff? Make sure your permit has these new updates

The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) has even announced that they will allow a 3-day grace period for workers to get their authorisation letters sorted before officers at roadblocks start issuing violation compounds.

Also read: U-Turn: Police will still accept old MITI permit until 3 June 2021