Sabah local government and housing minister Masidi Manjun said these drivers will be allowed to travel between these three districts without the need for a police permit.
“This permission is given to e-hailing drivers, taxis registered with e-hailing services and food delivery services,” he said in his daily Covid-19 statement today.
He said the operating hours are from 6am to 8pm daily, with only one passenger allowed at one time except for medical or emergency purposes where two passengers are allowed.
He added the drivers must follow the SOPs fixed by the National Security Council throughout the implementation of the third movement control order.
This latest decision comes after an e-hailing driver complained of being fined RM5,000 at a roadblock, despite having all the necessary documents when trying to take a passenger from Penampang to the Papar district on June 12.
The driver, Lai Kok Sheng, said he had a letter from the e-hailing company, an approval letter from the transport ministry and his public service vehicle licence.
However, he was told by police that public transport vehicles such as buses and trains were not allowed to cross district borders. Lai later met with Luyang assemblyman Phoong Jin Zhe for help.
Phoong said the police did not allow Lai explain or make a U-turn and leave, adding that they immediately issued him the notice for the fine although he was willing to drop off his passenger at the roadblock.
Sabah police chief Hazani Ghazali, however, said in response that neither the driver nor the passenger had the police permit required for inter-district travel.
Kota Kinabalu, Putatan and Penampang were previously categorised as one district, allowing people to travel freely between these districts, but this was revoked earlier this month after a sharp rise in infections in the three areas combined.
Meanwhile, new infections are still high in Sabah, with 193 cases detected in the last 24 hours.
The cumulative cases in the state is now 67,900, with 1,473 still active.
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