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PETALING JAYA: A group of experts today questioned the government’s Covid-19 policies, considering them discriminatory against foreigners.
The Market Education Center (CME) said restrictions on foreign nationals were contributing to a rise in anti-foreign sentiment in the country.
Chief Security Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently announced an entry ban for citizens of countries that have more than 150,000 Covid-19 cases as of Monday.
Last week, it announced an entry ban on long-term pass holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines, also starting Monday, due to an increase in Covid-19 cases in those countries.
The ban includes pass holders with permanent resident status, Malaysia My Second Home program participants, expats, including those with professional visiting passes, and resident pass holders.
The Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL) also prohibited foreigners from applying for new licenses to open more than 20 types of businesses in the city.
CME CEO Carmelo Felito said in a statement that the measures were important to slow the spread of the virus, but that they discriminated against other nationalities.
“The ban on arrivals to Malaysia seems to imply that Covid-19 is somehow related to nationality rather than physical presence in a certain place,” he said.
“Why should an Italian from Japan, for example, be barred from entering Malaysia by virtue of his passport?”
He said such measures could discourage foreign direct investment and alienate multinational companies, negatively affecting the local economy and the labor sector.
“It appears that the contributions of foreigners, both migrant workers and expatriates, to the Malaysian economy are no longer recognized,” he said.
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