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JOHOR BARU: Johor wants Putrajaya to speed up the full reopening of Malaysia’s border with Singapore, says Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad.
Hasni said he recently met with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to discuss the matter, adding that Muhyiddin had asked Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to look into it.
“Both governments are currently finding positive ways for us to quickly open the border between Malaysia and Singapore,” Hasni said during a speech at the Johor Islamic Religious Council (Maij) zakat ceremony at the Holiday Villa Hotel here on Monday ( September 7).
He added that to date, more than 35,000 locals working on the Calzada have lost their jobs since the pandemic began.
“It has also affected more than 250,000 Malaysians who used to commute between the border daily as the state’s economy is dependent on the economy of our neighboring country.
“The reopening of the border is also important, as it contributes 50% of the country’s Customs revenue,” he said, adding that he hopes the government will announce the good news soon.
On July 26, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and his Singaporean counterpart Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan met midway through Causeway in a symbolic gesture to mark the two countries’ agreement to reopen their borders on August 17. under the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL). and Periodic Transfer Agreement (PCA).
The border was closed after Malaysia introduced the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of Covid-19 on March 18.
The RGL will allow essential commercial and official cross-border travel between Malaysia and Singapore up to a maximum of 400 people per week for stays of up to two weeks.
On the other hand, the PCA will allow residents of both countries who have long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes in the other country to enter that country for work reasons, up to a maximum of 2,000 people per day.
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