PETALING JAYA: A former federal minister has called for a new MySejahtera app for international visitors among ways to end what has been described as a “KLIA ordeal”.
Abdul Rahman Dahlan said a new “MySejahtera International” application should be prepared, and immigration officers be empowered to check health details of international visitors on arrival.
He said government agencies should end their turf war at airports over who had jurisdiction over international arrivals.
“Let us trust the immigration officers to do the inspection of vaccination proof as they process the international visitors’ passport. If the health ministry insists that they should have the jurisdiction, then allow the MOH officers to be stationed immediately after the immigration counters,” he said.
Rahman’s suggestions were made in a Facebook posting today in the wake of an FMT column by Rosli Khan recounting his “horrific experience” at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on arrival home from Indonesia.
Rahman said international travellers should be able to download the new MySejahtera app when they are still overseas and fill up all necessary details before they arrive.
“Even details and photos of their latest PCR results can be stored in the application,” he said in a Facebook post.
On arrival, international travellers would only need to scan and show their app to the immigration officer or just show details of their PCR test.
Rahman said proof of Covid-19 vaccination should no longer be inspected by officers from the health ministry as it created more queues.
“It is time-consuming, not to mention cumbersome and more costly to the government. Let us trust the immigration officers to do the inspection of vaccination proof as they process the international visitors’ passport,” he said.
Rahman added that if the ministry insists that they should have the jurisdiction, health officers should be stationed immediately after immigration counters in order for international travellers to seamlessly interact with them immediately.
He said overly cautious policies and multiple jurisdictions could hurt the country’s objective to open its borders and would be counterproductive.
“I don’t foresee international visitors (businessmen and social visitors) eager to come to Malaysia if they have to spend hours at the airport and face lengthy and confusing procedures as well as health protocols,” he said. - FMT
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