KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 21): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) said today it will temporarily close all its offices and counters across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Labuan from tomorrow until further notice due to the enforcement of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) imposed by the government to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision to temporarily close the EPF's Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Labuan branches follows the CMCO and recent directive for employees to work from home in the state of Selangor and Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, the EPF said in a statement today.
"The EPF is taking a very cautious stand with regard to the increasing number of [new] Covid-19 cases in this state (Selangor and the federal territories) and around the country as a whole.
"While we understand the closures may pose some inconveniences to the public, we remain focused on prioritising the health and safety of our members and employers from different locations who [would otherwise] visit our counters and offices every day," the EPF said.
As a result of the branch closures, the EPF said all prior appointments made online to visit the EPF's offices in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Labuan will be cancelled with immediate effect.
EPF members who have made appointments to visit these offices during the CMCO period will have to reschedule their appointments after the CMCO is lifted, the EPF said.
"Members and employers are urged to opt for the EPF’s online services, i-Akaun (Member) and i-Akaun (Employer), which are operating as usual. Payment for contributions can still be made through Internet banking, over the counter at registered bank agents and via the i-Akaun (Employer) portal on the EPF's website.
"Members and employers are advised to obtain [related] information only from the EPF’s official channels,” the EPF said.
Malaysia's MCO, which was initially scheduled between March 18 and 31, requires non-essential businesses to stop operations, while the public was ordered to stay at home to curb the Covid-19 outbreak.
On March 25, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government decided to extend the MCO until April 14, because updates from the National Security Council and the Health Ministry indicated an increase in Covid-19 cases.
On April 10, Muhyiddin said the government was extending the MCO until April 28.
On April 23, Muhyiddin said the MCO would be extended for another two weeks until May 12.
On May 4, news reports, quoting Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, indicated that regulations under phase four of the MCO were null and void with the commencement of the CMCO or phase five of the MCO.
On May 10, Muhyiddin said the CMCO would be extended to June 9.
On June 7, Muhyiddin said the CMCO, scheduled to expire on June 9, will be replaced with the recovery movement control order (RMCO) beginning June 10 until Aug 31.
On Aug 28, news reports, quoting Muhyiddin, said the RMCO has been extended until Dec 31.
The CMCO has, however, been re-enforced in certain parts of the country due to the rise in the number of new Covid-19 cases.
On Oct 12, news reports, quoting Ismail Sabri, said the government had agreed to re-enforce the CMCO in Selangor, KL and Putrajaya from Oct 14 to Oct 27.
It was reported that the government has also agreed to implement the CMCO throughout Sabah effective from Oct 13 until Oct 26.
Last Thursday (Oct 15), it was reported that the CMCO for Labuan will be enforced from Oct 17 to Oct 30.