COVID-19 | Foreigners who are allowed to enter Malaysia must pay their quarantine charges and Covid-19 testing fees upon arrival or they can stay in the airport, warned Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“We have made the decision that before they can pass immigration, they must make the payment for their hotel or quarantine centres.
“If they refuse to pay, we will not let them pass immigration, so they can stay at the airport till whenever,” Ismail Sabri said in his press conference on Covid-19 updates today.
Previously, he said there were many incidents where foreigners who could enter Malaysia refused to pay for their quarantine and testing fees after those were completed.
On a separate issue, he also cleared the confusion over whether the government has allowed the Malaysian Football League tournament to take place this year.
He said the government has not changed its stance that the Malaysian Football League will be allowed to take place without spectators starting Aug 15.
However, he said, the Football Association Malaysia (FAM) itself had set the league to start on Aug 26.
“The government is not in charge of setting the date of the league, the FAM decided to set the date on Aug 26,” Ismail Sabri said.
Meanwhile, he encouraged all NGOs and associations to contribute to the ‘Embracing New Norms’ campaign which was launched by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Aug 8.
They can contribute by coming up with their own posters on the new norms and SOPs as set by the government, he said, as long as it is not for business purposes.
They can even use the logos of government agencies on the posters, he said, but they must get approval from the relevant agencies first, such as the Royal Malaysian Police, the National Security Council and the Health Ministry.
When asked by a reporter on whether Malaysia has set a timeline on reopening its international borders, Ismail said that would depend on the Covid-19 situation worldwide.
“We have not set any dates (to reopen our international borders).
“We have to look at the cases worldwide, such as cases in other countries like the US which has more than four million cases, or Brazil with more than two million or India, also with two million cases.
“First, we need to look at the countries who want to come to our country. If it is a high-risk country, then for sure we will not allow it.
“If our country is clear, then maybe we can loosen the restriction, but for now, the situation is still serious and in our own country, we still have the recovery movement control order (MCO),” Ismail explained.
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