The Johor government has called for fully vaccinated Malaysians residing in Singapore to be allowed to spend the 14-day mandatory quarantine at home, instead of a designated quarantine centre, The Star reported.

Growing calls from Malaysians to ease restrictions

They have joined growing calls for the Malaysian federal government to ease the regulations on the 14-day quarantine in Malaysia, which costs around RM2,200 (S$706).

Mohd Izhar Ahmad, chairman of the State Investment, Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship Development and Human Resources Committee said they have discussed the issue with Johor Chief Minister Hasni Mohammad, and hope that Putrajaya can look into their proposal on this matter.

"We also want to help ease the financial burden of the vaccinated Malaysians who want to return home," he said.

Malaysia in the midst of immunisation programme

Responding to an online petition calling for the mandatory quarantine period to be shortened to a one-day period, which has gathered more than 17,000 signatures at the time of writing, Mohd Izhar acknowledged the hardships that the pandemic has caused for many.

He also added that "giving some leeway or incentives" for those who are fully  vaccinated "will surely encourage more people to get fully vaccinated".

As Malaysia embarks on its Covid-19 immunisation programme, Johor has previously called for Malaysia and Singapore to resume talks on reopening the border.

A total of 18,393,347 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered nationwide as of the end of July 27, according to the Special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV).

Jumlah pemberian kumulatif vaksin setakat 27 Julai#LindungDiriLindungSemua pic.twitter.com/3O7V9zPwv9

— Vaksin COVID-19 🇲🇾 (@JKJAVMY) July 28, 2021

About 18 per cent of Malaysians have been vaccinated to date.

Malaysia has reported a record daily high of 17,405 new Covid-19 cases on July 28, bringing the accumulated number of cases so far to 1,061,476.

Top image by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images