This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 18, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador has appealed to Malaysians who need to travel between states or districts to inform the police and obtain a permit to do so.

Malaysians may bring the necessary documents to the police station to show the cause as to why they need to travel — such as to visit sick family members or to pick up their underaged children — Abdul Hamid said at a press conference yesterday.

Abdul Hamid said the police will in turn provide a document to explain that the document carrier will need to make that journey.

“The process will only take a while. We will make it very simple,” he said.

He also urged the public not to take advantage of the leeway and give false information to obtain a permit for other purposes such as for a holiday.

It is within the purview of each state government whether a quarantine process is necessary for inbound visitors, he said.

As for employees working in one state and living in another, Abdul Hamid pointed out that most offices are shut down except for essential services.

“Our role is to control the movement of the public interstate. This exercise is crucial to stop the outbreak of the virus,” he said. “It is not a lockdown.”