Malaysian Foreign Students Do Not Need Five Star Hotels For Quarantine

Photo illustration (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - International students in Malaysia protested against the COVID-19 quarantine tariff for foreigners set by local authorities. They made a petition rejecting the RM 4,700 figure.

The online petition was initiated by Taimoor Mazhar. The petition is addressed to the Minister of Health as well as the Minister of Higher Education Malaysia.

Taimoor wrote that the COVID-19 pandemic has a major impact on the lives of everyone. Many families are going through financial crises and other hardships.

The Malaysian government has imposed a fee of RM4700 for mandatory quarantine of 14 days for international students (foreigners) returning to Malaysia.

"Many students who are studying in Malaysia cannot afford this expense because of the financial crisis and its high cost which even under normal circumstances makes it impossible to pay," said Taimoor.

He asked for support so that the Malaysian government helps international students to think about quarantine in 2 or 3 star hotels. That, in his eyes, makes much more sense than the 5 star hotels that the current Malaysian government offers.

"There are 130,110 international students currently studying in Malaysia and not all international students can afford this cost," he said.

Most students spend RM4,700 over three to four months including accommodation, food and transportation. "The RM4,700 amount will greatly affect the life of international students in Malaysia," he said.

As of this afternoon the petition has received 1,500 supports. Mulyadi, a student from the University of Malaya from Medan, North Sumatra Province, said that the quarantine fee was too expensive. If converted into rupiah, the cost of RM4,700 is equivalent to IDR 16 million.

"Wow, it's getting more and more expensive ... O Allah. Yes, I will return to Malaysia next year," said the board of the Malaysian Muhammadiyah Special Branch (PCIM) and the Secretary of the Malaysian BP KNPI.