Wan Fayhsal joins call to ban inbound China travellers

Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has joined the call to bar travellers from China due to the Covid-19 situation there.

He said the ban should last until the number of daily Covid-19 cases in China is in decline in order to protect the tourism industry in Malaysia.

“The Malaysian government must heed the Pakatan Harapan administration’s mistake in February 2020 by being slow in barring tourists from risky countries.

“The government’s mistake at the time has resulted in deaths of thousands of rakyat and economic devastation that we still haven’t recovered from.

“Bersatu Youth wants the people’s interests to be prioritised over other matters when it comes to the latest Covid-19 threat,” he said in a statement today.

Covid-19 cases in China erupted after the country abruptly reopened its economy after three years of zero-Covid policy, despite low booster vaccine uptake, particularly among the elderly. It also plans to reopen its borders on Jan 8.

The situation prompted some countries, including Malaysia, to impose additional testing requirements on incoming travellers from China, though none have imposed a blanket ban on all travellers from the country.

For Malaysia, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa announced additional screening measures and bolstering vaccination efforts.

Malaysia had imposed travel restrictions in response to Covid-19 outbreaks before, most recently targeting South Africa and several other countries during the emergence of the Omicron variant of the virus.

This only succeeded in buying time for health authorities to broaden its vaccination campaign and redouble its contact tracing and surveillance efforts before Omicron ultimately slipped past the nation’s borders to spread locally.

Meanwhile, Wan Fayhsal (top picture) lauded the additional measures Zaliha had announced but asserted it is not enough.

“We want stronger preventive measures. The government must temporarily bar the entry of tourists from China until the daily cases in China are in decline,” he said.

He claimed this is in line with calls by the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association president Uzaidi Udanis, though Uzaidi had in fact urged the government not to suspend travel from China and merely take more precautions against Covid-19.

Previously, the Malaysia Tourism Agency Association (Mata) and PAS have both called for travel bans against China travellers.

Mata president Mohd Khalid Harun had advised tourism industry players to focus on other markets instead, while PAS information chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin said the government should impose the ban to monitor the Covid-19 situation developing in China and countries that receive Chinese travellers. - Mkini