Malaysia implements work-from-home policy for civil servants

Xinhua/NAN

Malaysia has implemented a work-from-home policy for 200,000 civil servants starting on Wednesday as part of measures to mitigate the rising cost of fuel.

Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri Bakar said this at a news conference.

He said that the measures were taken to counter rising fuel costs.

Approval for the programme would be at the discretion of individual department heads, based on operational needs and job suitability, Shamsul Azri said.

He explained that Malaysia is not insulated from global shocks, particularly amid current geopolitical uncertainties.

He expressed confidence that civil servants would remain committed to their duties under the arrangement and not misuse the flexibility provided.

“I am confident civil servants will not take advantage of this by ‘getting up, sitting down and relaxing’ or going out shopping,” he said.

He added that civil servants must not use the implementation of the work-from-home programme as an excuse to delay or postpone any planned programs.