Workers' Accommodation Standards * Updated *

The Workers' Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities (Amendment) Act 2019 ("Amended Act") was due to come into effect on 1 June 2020 in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan¹. The coming into force date has however been extended to 1 September 2020 which allows for a 3 months grace period for employers to make the necessary preparations and ensure compliance.

Given the challenges we are facing in containing the continued spread of the Covid-19 virus, one wonders whether the delay in enforcing the Amended Act could further hamper efforts to curb the spread of the virus especially now that a DG14G mutation of the Covid-19 virus has been detected by the Malaysian Institute for Medical Research within the Sivagangga Cluster and the Ulu Tiram Cluster². The 3-months grace period should not make any difference if the employers had indeed intended to adhere to the law. The Amended Act was passed in July 2019 and gazetted in September 2019. One could