PETALING JAYA: Commuting to work has become smoother as fewer people are required to be in the office in light of the rising number of Covid-19 cases over the past few weeks.

       Malaysia has recorded daily cases beyond the 20,000 mark since Feb 11, with the highest number of cases – 28,825 – recorded on Feb 19.

       It has prompted some companies in the Klang Valley to re-activate the work from home (WFH) arrangement to ensure the safety of their workers.

       Government servant Amira Hisam, 26, who commutes by car from her house in Banting to her workplace in Kuala Lumpur daily, said traffic had become much lighter over the past weeks.

       “Usually, it would take me two hours to arrive at work but since the past few weeks, I can arrive 30 minutes earlier,” she said.

       Amira said she was not worried about having to work in the office as her colleagues were all fully inoculated and had received booster shots.

       “In the case of someone getting infected, it is important for the person to practise self-surveillance and to self-quarantine,” she said.

       Hariz Hanafi, 30, who drives to work from Shah Alam to Petaling Jaya, said his travelling time had shortened as fewer vehicles were on the road at peak hours.

       “I guess it is because some companies have allowed their employees to continue working from home.

       “My journey on the Federal Highway usually takes at least 45 minutes but it has reduced by 15 minutes over the past few days,” the research assistant said.

       A public transport user in the Klang Valley, who only wished to be identified as Rani, said she felt safer when taking the train to work as fewer people were using them since last week.

       “As an employee who has to be in the office for operational purposes, my daily commute was like a battle.

       “At some point, I had to squeeze into the train and that exposed me to the disease,” said the 35-year-old from Puchong.

       Rani added that implementation of WFH helped in ensuring that the disease could be kept at bay as economic recovery continues.

       Data analyst executive Ahmad Hanif Muhammad said as the number of daily cases started to rise again, the company he worked at made the decision to allow its employees to work from home indefinitely.

       Since last year, the employers at the company have been instructed to work remotely to ensure their safety.

       “The nature of our jobs is mostly project-based and can be done remotely,” the 28-year-old said.

       Ahmad Hanif said the remote working arrangement helped him to avoid crowded places and as a public transport user, he could avoid being in contact with a lot of people.

       “It is safer to WFH compared to having to commute to the office and put ourselves at risk,” he said.

       Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Datuk Abdul Halim Mansor said the remote working arrangement should continue to be the new norm, adding that the execution could be improved.

       He said re-activating remote working after cases increased would be a late response as many would have already been exposed to infections.

       He suggested a properly devised set of guidelines such as WFH as a part of the working norm in companies.

       “WFH should be integrated in the working mechanism.”