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JOHOR BARU: Malaysia should review the travel SOP with Singapore, which has begun easing requirements, including shortening the quarantine period, officials here say.
Since 1 September, Malaysians traveling to Singapore received a seven-day stay-at-home notice (SHN) there.
But Malaysia still imposed a quarantine of up to 14 days in designated quarantine centers for travelers entering here.
Malaysia-Singapore Workers Working Group (Pemas) chair Dayalan Sreebalan said thousands of Malaysians with Singaporean public relations status were also losing as they were unable to travel under the Periodic Posting Agreement (PCA).
He said they were required to use the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and then spend 14 days in designated quarantine centers upon returning to Malaysia.
“Singapore has standardized all the documentation for PCA. This means they receive seven days of SHN and a swab test.
“However, Malaysia requires our people to spend 14 days in quarantine centers, as PRs have no FIN (foreign identification numbers, as this is a mandatory requirement for all PCA applications).
“Why can’t our Ministry of Immigration or Health allow PRs to use Mykad numbers and travel with PCA?” she asked, adding that Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower gave FIN numbers to Malaysians who applied for work passes there.
“The time has come for both countries to allow commuters to start crossing into the third category,” he said, adding that his task force handled many cases on a daily basis to help Malaysians return home due to illnesses or attending funerals.
Dayalan said the government should pressure private labs to get Covid-19 test results within 48 hours so that people don’t have to stay longer in quarantine centers.
“Since the PCA and RGL began in August, more than 5,500 people have traveled between the two countries with just one known case of Covid-19,” he said, adding that people’s livelihoods were at stake if the border was not met. would reopen soon.
A Malaysian who wanted to be known as Hwan used the RGL to enter Singapore for an 11-day business trip and was surprised when he was asked to undergo a 14-day quarantine at a hotel here when he returned.
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