KUALA LUMPUR: Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) representing managers of properties and public facilities have urged related practitioners, joint management bodies and corporations not to impose a Covid-19 test requirement for tenants and residents.
In a joint statement, the NGOs said there are no legal provisions to compel the management of premises to impose such an action.
"Unless there is a directive in the form of an official standard operating procedure (SOP) issued either by the National Security Council and/or the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
"Property managers, joint management bodies and corporations should first seek legal opinion before taking such an action," it said today.
The joint statement was issued and signed by the Malaysian Institute of Property and Facility Managers (MIPFM) president Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin; Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) property surveying division vice- president Aziah Mohd Yusoff; and Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents & Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS) president Michael Kong Kok Kee.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in a press conference yesterday, said the management of residential areas and condominiums are allowed to make Covid-19 swab tests a compulsory requirement for tenants, especially foreigners, before they are allowed onto the premises.
He said the requirement is allowed to ensure the health and safety of residents during the pandemic.