KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 — The government has agreed to reduce the fee for mandatory quarantine at public training institutes (ILA) from RM150 to RM100 per person per day.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government revised the fee after receiving complaints that those quarantined at the ILA were being charged the same fee with those quarantined at hotels with better facilities.

"The Special Ministerial Committee meeting has agreed to reduce the quarantine fee at ILA from RM150 to RM100 per person per day. The fee for those quarantined at a hotel, however, remains at RM150 per person per day,” he told the press conference on the latest development on the recovery movement control order (RMCO) at the Parliament building here today.

Ismail Sabri said children aged 12 and below will be allowed to stay in the same room with their parents.

However, the second individual sharing the room will be charged RM50 per day for meals.

The minister said children aged 12 and below who returned to Malaysia without their parents or guardian, will also be required to undergo the 14-day mandatory quarantine, but they have to be accompanied by a guardian in Malaysia with the fee for the guardian to be borne by the government.

He said individuals who want to undergo the mandatory quarantine at the ILA, however, have to make an application as the places are limited.

"We only have five ILA compared with 58 hotels (turned into quarantine centres), the places are limited and it depends on room availability. For those quarantined at hotels, they can upgrade their rooms at their own expense,” he said. 

In addition, Ismail Sabri said an exemption would be given to those from B40 households and recently-released prisoners who could not afford and had no source of income to pay the quarantine fee.

At the press conference, the minister also said that 222 individuals were arrested for defying the RMCO directives yesterday, of which 49 have been remanded, while five others were released on bail.

He said 168 individuals were issued with compounds for various offences yesterday, including being involved in activities at pubs and night clubs with disregard of physical distancing and the use of face masks.

A total of 2,869 illegal immigrants, 620 agents and 164 smugglers were also arrested in the Ops Benteng mounted between May 1 and yesterday.

"Yesterday alone, the police detained six foreign nationals during Ops Benteng roadblocks,” he added. — Bernama