Commenting on news that 18 students returning to their hostels tested positive for the virus in Sabah in the past two days, the Muar MP said compulsory Covid-19 screenings must be carried out on all examination students returning to schools tomorrow.

He said senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob had stated last week that it was not compulsory for students of higher learning institutions and schools to undergo virus screenings.

Syed Saddiq said this contradicted a statement by Sabah minister Masidi Manjun who wanted Covid-19 tests to be carried out on all students.

“I need to ask, why is there no uniformity in the Covid-19 SOPs by the Sabah government and the (SOP) orders of Ismail?” Syed Saddiq asked in a statement.

“This is not efficient. Will education minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin still ignore the risk of an SPM cluster by going ahead with the reopening of schools to examination students tomorrow?

“The ministry must prevent SPM clusters from happening and the events in Sabah must be taken as a signal by the minister.”

Yesterday, Masidi, who is the Sabah local government and housing minister, said 10 more students had tested positive for Covid-19 after mass screenings. There were eight cases the previous day.

Masidi said district health offices had been screening students who were allowed to return to hostels since Jan 16.

Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq also urged Radzi to immediately table a plan to ensure students, parents and teachers were fully prepared for the reopening of schools tomorrow.

He said while the questions he raised were not new, they needed to be resolved for the safety of students.