KUCHING, March 8: The reopening of Malaysia’s borders starting April 1 was welcomed as good news for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
“I welcome Prime Minister Dato Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement earlier today on the reopening of our borders from April 1 onwards as part of Malaysia entering the endemic phase. This is a good move for our country which follows the footsteps of others because they cannot economically afford or are no longer willing to keep their borders closed.
“Australia opened its borders on February 12, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore as well. We need to accept the fact that Covid-19 is here to stay but with good precautionary measures, our fight against its surge will soon be over,” Abdul Karim said in a statement.
He added that the Sarawak government is among the few which have already worked out its Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) which was launched by the Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
The PCDS he said is part of the state’s continuous efforts to keep Sarawak’s development agenda on track.
“We need it because our people’s livelihoods are at stake. Together we must work hard to return everyone’s lives to normalcy,” added Abdul Karim, who is also the Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister.
Earlier today, Ismail Sabri said with the reopening of Malaysia’s borders, foreign travellers with recognised travel documents can enter Malaysia freely.
They are not required to apply for the MyTravel Pass, which will be abolished, and those who have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine will not be required to quarantine upon arrival in Malaysia.
However, it is still mandatory to take a RT-PCR test two days before travelling to Malaysia, followed by a professionally administered RTK-Antigen (professional) test within 24 hours of their arrival in the country.
Visitors are also required to fill in the pre-departure form on the MySejahtera app.
As for countries whose borders are still closed like Thailand and Singapore, Ismail Sabri said the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) will remain in place. — DayakDaily
