MOH looking into fully opening Malaysia-Singapore border

The Health Ministry is looking into fully reopening the Malaysia-Singapore border for the daily commute, minister Dr Adham Baba said.

He said the plan to reopen the border came following the pressure from the public whose livelihood had been affected by the border closing.

“The extension of the recovery movement control order until December is a crucial period for the ministry to determine the best time to allow the opening of the border for daily commuters.

“This is because during this period, we will be able to assess and acquire valuable inputs from both countries, including methods to reduce Covid-19 infection,” he told the media after the launch of the Lego mural specially dedicated to Covid-19 frontliners, at Legoland Theme Park in Johor Baru today.

He stressed that the ministry would utilise the data and follow the stipulated regulations, to prevent claims of not doing their best in controlling the disease and not taking care of the people’s wellbeing.

Dr Adham said the ministry is also planning to double the number of swab test conducted under the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) schemes.

Currently, 2000 swab tests are done daily under the PCA scheme and 400 under the RGL scheme.

Meanwhile, Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad, who was also present at the event said, the state government would continue to push for the border reopening.

“I will continue to urge the federal government not to consider the Green Travel Bubble plan for Johor-Singapore border opening.

“Johor-Singapore (relationship) is unique, that is why we do not hesitate to allow movement of lorries that carry food, medical supplies, essential items and such, because here the human element is involved and between Johor and Singapore things are different,” he said while urging the federal government to consider this unique position.

Also present at the event was Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri.

- Bernama