Work from home is no picnic, says Sarawak minister

Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said while the policy can help reduce fuel consumption and lower costs, workers must remain productive and disciplined, the Dayak Daily reported.

“When employees are instructed to work from home, they should not take that time to bring their families on holiday or go on picnics. That is wrong,” the tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister was quoted as saying.

On April 2, the federal government said that civil servants living more than 8km away from their office will be allowed to work from home for three days a week, effective April 15, for civil servants in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor and the capital city of other states.

Those allowed to work from home must login to an online monitoring system every hour, to record their attendance.

Civil servants in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu will be allowed to work from home from Monday to Wednesday. Other civil servants will be allowed to do so from Tuesday to Thursday.

Yesterday, Chief Secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar warned civil servants that the new WFH arrangement is not a licence for them to “baring, duduk, rehat” (lie down, sit, rest) – a play on the Malay acronym BDR (“bekerja dari rumah”).

“Workers must comply with established rules and procedures, maintaining output and productivity at the same level as in-office work, if not higher,” Bernama quoted him as saying.