Penang Yet To Decide On WFH Policy, Awaiting Departmental Feedback - Chow

GEORGE TOWN, April 8 (Bernama) -- The Penang government has yet to decide on implementing a work-from-home (WFH) policy for its state civil servants, as it is still in the process of obtaining feedback from all relevant departments.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state has received guidelines related to the implementation of WFH, but a final decision will only be made after a comprehensive review.

“We have instructed the State Secretary to obtain feedback from every department on the need for WFH before it is discussed again to determine who or which departments it can be implemented in,” he said.

He told reporters this after attending the state government’s contribution presentation ceremony to Tamil National-Type Schools (SJKT), kindergartens, and Punjabi and Telugu education centres in Penang at Komtar here today.

Chow also said the number of civil servants who may be involved has yet to be determined, as the state government needs to assess the operational requirements of each department first.

Meanwhile, he explained that Penang has long implemented a special bus service to Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar) specifically for civil servants.

He said seven subsidised buses are provided to transport civil servants from several locations such as Seberang Jaya, Jawi and Balik Pulau to Komtar at a fare of RM150 (a month), with the remainder borne by the state government.

“In addition, some civil servants also use the free bus service from Bukit Mertajam to Komtar, while for the private sector, the state government has long provided the free Congestion Alleviation Transport (CAT) Bridge service from Seberang Perai to Bayan Lepas,” he said.

He said all information from the feedback would be used as the basis for consideration before any decision on the implementation of WFH is made.

Previously, Chow said the Penang State Executive Council had decided not to implement the WFH policy for civil servants after considering the absence of urgent need.

On April 1, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Cabinet had agreed to implement the WFH policy involving ministries, agencies, statutory bodies and government-linked companies (GLCs) beginning April 15.

-- BERNAMA