PONTIAN: Caretaker Johor menteri besar Hasni Mohammad wants Putrajaya to set the SOPs for daily commuters to Singapore quickly following the announcement that Malaysia’s borders will reopen on April 1.
Hasni welcomed the move today, saying it would be a major boost to economic sectors like tourism, which have been among the hardest hit by border closures.
“The caretaker state government hopes the federal government can finalise the SOPs for those who will be commuting across the Causeway as soon as possible,” he told reporters in Benut today.
Hasni, who is defending his Benut seat in the Johor state elections on March 12, also hoped that Singapore would work towards reopening its side of the border to allow Johoreans working in the republic to enter and exit on a daily basis.
As part of its manifesto for the Johor polls, Barisan Nasional (BN) had pledged that it would continue pushing for the border with Singapore to reopen fully, or at least in stages.
Hasni, who is also Johor BN chairman, had suggested reopening the borders by sector, like construction and services, pointing out that many Malaysians working in Singapore were in these sectors.
Earlier, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that from April 1, Malaysians with valid travel documents would be able to enter and leave the country as they did before the pandemic.
Meanwhile, on claims that Umno Supreme Council member and Rengit candidate Puad Zarkashi had been lobbying for the menteri besar post, Hasni maintained that it was the Sultan of Johor who had the final say on who would helm the top position.
He added that BN had already decided to name him as its menteri besar candidate, though his focus was on defending the Benut seat first.
Puad, responding to claims by Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan, had denied eyeing the menteri besar post.
He said he had even informed Hasni that he did not want to be an executive councillor in the state government should he win the Rengit seat and BN take sole control of the state. - FMT
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