Singapore minister: Talks with Malaysia on green lane, commuting deal on track

Malaysia and Singapore had on July 14 agreed to implement travel schemes meant to address the needs of different groups of cross-border travellers in the two countries. — Reuters pic

SINGAPORE, July 24 — Discussions are on track to finalise the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to facilitate cross-border travel between Singapore and Malaysia through the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) initiatives.

“Discussions are on track. These are the arrangements that we agreed upon and will be implemented in due course,” said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong during the Covid-19 virtual press conference here today.

The two governments, in a joint statement on July 14, have agreed to implement both travel schemes meant to address the needs of different groups of cross-border travellers in the two countries.

Officials in Malaysia and Singapore are working expeditiously towards the targeted implementation of RGL and PCA on Aug 10, 2020.

Both sides have agreed to publish the requirements, health protocols, and application process involved for entry and exit into Malaysia and Singapore, 10 days prior to the implementation of the RGL and PCA, said the joint statement.

Wong, who is also the co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on Covid-19, said that both countries were still discussing another aspect of travel arrangement involving daily commuters.

“As we highlighted before, we do not want to see the large volume of daily commuters as was the case before Covid-19.

“It is simply because on both sides neither Malaysia nor Singapore will be able to accommodate that large volume of travel on a daily basis in a safe and sustainable manner in Covid-19 environment.

“So the discussions around the arrangement for daily commuters are still ongoing,” said Wong.

Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong noted that though many Singaporeans were still very keen to take a weekend holiday in Malaysia and vice versa, it would not happen anytime soon

“Even with the daily commute arrangement it is going to be quite stringent... quite tight... and that will likely be meant for very essential services... for service workers who need to travel on a daily basis.

“So I think those who are thinking about holiday, unfortunately, you have to put up the idea for quite some time yet,” said Gan, who is also the co-chair of the Taskforce.

Gan noted that Singapore is still continuing to work on whether or not it could continue to open the borders to more countries and regions.

“But again this also depends on infection situation in those regions and countries,” he said.

As of today, Singapore’s total infection tally stands at 49,375 cases with 27 fatalities. — Bernama