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PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Long-term pass holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines will not be able to enter Malaysia from September 7, following an increase in Covid-19 cases in these countries, said Senior Minister (Defense cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Tuesday (September 1).
He said the move would help prevent imported cases from spreading in Malaysia.
Citizens of the three countries that will be affected include those with permanent resident status, Malaysia My Second Home program participants, expats and professional visit pass holders, and spouses of Malaysian citizens and students. .
Many of them were still allowed to travel to the country in recent months despite strict travel restrictions.
“The special Cabinet committee is aware of the sudden increase in positive Covid-19 cases in certain countries,” said Datuk Seri Ismail.
“Today’s meeting decided to impose restrictions on citizens of India, Indonesia and the Philippines entering the country,” he said.
Ismail said the government will also monitor the situation in other countries and did not rule out the possibility that the same restrictions will be imposed on citizens of other countries experiencing an increase in cases.
“We have asked the Ministry of Health to do detailed planning on how Malaysia should face the threats and challenges in view of the possibility of an increase in cases during the winter.
“We have begun to tighten border controls by not allowing people from the three countries to enter,” he said.
Ismail said the other challenge was how to prepare for the return of Malaysian nationals from countries experiencing winter.
The government has expressed concern that countries experiencing winter in the coming months will have more cases of Covid-19.
Malaysia reported six new coronavirus cases on Monday to bring the total to 9,340. The number of deaths related to Covid-19 stood at 127, with one more death recorded on Monday.
A total of 9,054 people have been recovered.
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