JOHOR BAHRU, Jan 31 — The Johor government hopes that the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) scheme between Malaysia and Singapore will continue to drive industrial growth and boost investment in the state.

This follows the republic’s decision to temporarily suspend the reciprocal "travel bubble” arrangement with Malaysia, as well as South Korea and Germany for three months starting Monday following the resurgence of Covid-19 cases worldwide.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the state government has conveyed its stand on Singapore’s decision to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and the matter is expected to be discussed at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also contacted the state government on Johor’s stand on the RGL scheme. The state government hopes the RGL scheme to continue.

"We believe there is a lot of investments from Singapore in Johor, so with this arrangement, it can help industries and investments from neighbouring countries that have interests in Johor.

"Therefore, we hope the federal government will also allow eligible industry players to continue to use RGL,” he told a virtual press conference here today.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday it will review the arrangement after three months.

Apart from Malaysia, South Korea and Germany, the republic also implemented RGL with Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, and six provinces in China.

Singapore first established the RGL scheme with Malaysia on Aug 17 last year to facilitate cross-border travel for important business and official purposes between the two countries. — Bernama