Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the ministry’s top priority in any decision on the policy was to safeguard the welfare of media personnel nationwide.

“I will also ask the department of information to take the necessary measures, including gathering public feedback. Any further considerations will then be forwarded to the KPPA (public service director-general) and communicated to the Cabinet and the ministry,” he told a press conference here today.

Earlier, Fahmi witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to strengthen enforcement cooperation in combating and preventing scams.

Also present were deputy finance minister Liew Chin Tong, MCMC chairman Salim Fateh Din and SC chairman Faiz Azmi.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Wednesday that the WFH policy for the public sector and government-linked companies would take effect from April 15 as a proactive measure to address the global energy crisis.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said the decision, reached at a Cabinet meeting, was to reduce fuel consumption and ensure the sustainability of the country’s energy supply, which has been affected by the conflict in West Asia.

Yesterday, the public services department announced that federal civil servants stationed in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya as well as Selangor and all state capitals with a one-way commute exceeding 8km would be eligible to work from home beginning April 15.

“States observing weekly rest days on Sunday will implement WFH from Tuesday to Thursday, while states observing weekly rest days on Friday will implement WFH from Monday to Wednesday,” it said.