JOHOR BARU - The Johor Immigration Department is expecting more Malaysians currently staying in Singapore to return home after the Republic announced significantly stricter measures to address the Covid-19 pandemic, The Star reported.

The department's director, Mr Baharuddin Tahir, said it is prepared for the expected influx at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex at the Causeway and Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar at the Second Link.

"The department is expecting to see a high number of Malaysians returning home between April 1 and 14 compared with March 18 to 31," he said on Saturday (April 4). "This is due to several restrictions faced by Malaysians working across the Causeway," he said.

Meanwhile, Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad said the state government hopes Singapore will allow Malaysians working to return home in stages following the Republic's decision to shut schools and most workplaces for a month from Tuesday (April 7).

“According to the statistics, almost 45,000 of our people are still in Singapore ... I believe that when the Singapore government imposes strict measures beginning April 7, we expect many more of our workers to return home,” he told RTM radio station, Johor FM, in an interview, as quoted by MalayMail online news on Sunday (April 5).

Datuk Hasni said the state government would be grateful if Singapore would allow only about 1,000 to 2,000 Malaysians to return home per day.

He said his concerns was also because Jakarta is also under lockdown, resulting in many Malaysians heading home from there too.

He added: “Johor is a bit unique as we have two main entry points namely the Johor Causeway and the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex, as well as four international ferry terminals" linked to Indonesian ferry gateways. The fery terminals are mostly used by Indonesian nationals who work in Malaysia.

On Friday, Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasir urged the Malaysian government to let Malaysians in Singapore return following the Republic's announcement as many Malaysians there would not be able to work.

Malaysiakini reported on Saturday that Malaysia will waive the 14-day quarantine requirement for its workers returning from Singapore, provided they test negative for the coronavirus.

The returning Malaysians should first undergo a swab test in Singapore and then present the test certificate at the entry point in Malaysia.

"Malaysians working in Singapore who wish to return to Malaysia during (Malaysia's) movement control order (MCO) period are required to get a swab test in Singapore and present a letter or certificate to confirm he or she is free of Covid-19 at the entry point before being allowed to enter.

"They will not need to be quarantined if they are confirmed to be negative," said immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud in a letter addressed to the Johor Immigration Department seen by Malaysiakini.

The MCO, which is in force until April 14 to contain the pandemic, requires all Malaysians returning from abroad to be isolated for 14 days.

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Malaysians are not allowed to go overseas, while tourists are not allowed into the country. Schools and non-essential businesses have been shuttered.

Before the order was implemented on March 18, an estimated 300,000 Malaysians commuted from Johor daily to work in Singapore.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday announced that most workplaces will be closed from next Tuesday (April 7) and all schools will move to full home-based learning a day later as part of measures to pre-empt an escalation in coronavirus infections.

Meanwhile, the Johor government has gazetted 54 quarantine centres throughout the state as part of its preparation to contain the Covid-19 outbreak here.

State health and environment committee chairman R. Vidyananthan said 14 centres had already started operations.

"If required, the state government will identify other facilities which can be used as quarantine centres, including hotels and privately owned buildings that are appropriate," he added.

Separately, Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah has said any further extension of the MCO will depend on Covid-19 data in the country by April 10.

Dr Noor Hisham said he could not predict what would happen but any decision would be based on science and facts. “We hope that by April 10, the data is available for us to make a decision on whether we need to extend or not,” he told a press conference on Saturday.

He said the ministry would be monitoring the situation but noted that all Malaysians would have to play their part as well. “If we can keep to staying at home, making sure we wash our hands and (practise) social distancing, then we will look into the data,” he added.

Malaysia on Sunday reported 179 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 3,662 cases as South-east Asia’s third-largest economy grapples with the highest number of infections in the region, Reuters reported.

The new cases include 4 deaths, raising the tally to 61 people who have died as of noon on Sunday, the health ministry said.