Ismail: All non-citizens must now pay RM4,700 on arrival

 

All non-citizens returning to Malaysia are now required to pay RM4,700 on arrival, announced Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a statement this afternoon.

The fee covers “fixed operating charges” and hotel expenses for the mandatory 14-day quarantine that all returnees are subjected to.

Starting today (Sept 24), the government will implement the charges on all foreign nationals entering from any of the country’s entryways.

Ismail did not mention any exceptions for foreign spouses, permanent residents or Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) participants.

“For non-citizens, they will need to pay the full charge sans any government subsidies of RM4,700 (RM2,600 in fixed operating charges and RM2,100 in accommodation costs).

“For the second and third individuals sharing a room with the first individual, accommodation costs will be halved to RM700 (per person).

“Accommodation costs for children under the age of six is free,” he said.

Malaysians returning home will need to pay RM2,100 on arrival as the government subsidises fixed operating charges for citizens.

Aside from the hotel bill, the minister previously said the RM4,700 fee covered the cost of three meals a day, transport from entry points to quarantine stations, personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers, security and decontamination services for quarantine stations.

All returnees are also subject to Covid-19 screening upon arrival.

67 arrested after boat, vehicles seized

Meanwhile, Ismail said the “Ops Benteng” border control operation officers seized one boat and 13 land vehicles yesterday.

They also arrested a total of 67 undocumented migrants, five tekong (boat captain) and three “smugglers”.

Of the 67, he said the military arrested eight undocumented migrants at Ladang Sungai Tengah, Johor for not having valid travel documents.

The police, meanwhile, arrested two undocumented migrants at Pengkalan Haram Kebun in Pengkalan Kubor, Kelantan for entering the country via “ungazetted” routes and for not having valid travel documents.

Ops Benteng is a joint operation between the military (ATM), police, Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM), Immigration Department, Customs Department and the Border Security Agency (Aksem).  - Mkini