Singaporeans delaying Malaysia trips, cite confusion over MySejahtera, insurance

 

Many Singaporeans are putting off their trips to Malaysia until clearer guidelines are available on travel requirements. (Reuters pic)

PETALING JAYA: While initially excited over the Causeway’s reopening tomorrow, several Singaporeans have put off their trips to Malaysia citing confusion over the MySejahtera application and travel insurance requirements.

Freelancer Lim Hui Hui, 23, had made plans for a trip to Johor Bahru on the very day the land border reopens to meet friends, do a bit of shopping and pump petrol in Malaysia since it is cheaper there.

But she told Today, a Singaporean news portal, that she had problems registering in MySejahtera and was also puzzled over whether she needed to purchase travel insurance to enter Malaysia.

Lim said there was a lack of clear guidelines in registering with MySejahtera, pointing out a requirement to provide a Malaysian address, which she did not have.

She said she had simply put “Johor” and filled in her Singaporean address, concerned that this could affect her entry to Johor Bahru.

“It’s such an overwhelming process,” she said, adding that she was putting off her trip until the issues were clarified.

Suria Hafees, 44, said her husband was similarly perplexed by the address requirement, resorting to putting their Singaporean address in the field at first, but under a Malaysian state since there was no option for “Singapore”.

Suria, a Port Dickson native, said she had not returned since the pandemic hit and wanted to visit her ageing parents with her two children over the weekend, but this had hit a snag.

They then wanted to change the address they filled in with her parents’ address, but this required reaching out to the app’s help desk, which was “closed on weekends”.

“I am afraid that if the address is wrong, it may affect the approval of (my husband’s) vaccination status. I really hope to be able to see my mother again, but we can only wait and see.”

She quipped that her mother wanted her to quickly visit Malaysia in case travel restrictions change again.

Meanwhile, one Singaporean who wanted to only be known as Chong said he had planned to buy his groceries in Johor over the weekend, but was worried that he would be turned away since he did not have any travel insurance.

“For a one-day trip that will only take a few hours, it’s too troublesome to deal with all this,” said the 56-year-old, adding that he will see how others fare in their trips before making plans for the future.

Earlier, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said travellers arriving in Malaysia from April 1 must have a minimum insurance coverage of US$20,000.

However, this was exempted for Malaysians, Singaporeans as well as permanent residents and long-term pass holders in Malaysia or Singapore.

While there has been a push for MySejahtera to be done away with come April 1, Khairy said all travellers coming into the country must download and register with the app.

Nonetheless, he told reporters yesterday that the health ministry will be evaluating the Covid-19 infection pattern in the few weeks after April 1 before deciding on dropping the use of MySejahtera. - FMT