KUCHING, March 30 — The Indonesian government has not allowed its citizens to enter Malaysia although the latter will be opening its border to international travellers starting April 1, said Sarawak Immigration director Datu Ken Leben.

However, he added, the department is well prepared for any eventuality at the border in Tebedu, Serian.

"Preparation for the opening of the border in Tebedu has begun even today,” he said when contacted today.

He also pointed out that even the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) are having meetings in Tebedu to discuss the matter.

On March 21, Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas told a press conference that the opening of the state border to international travellers was in line with the national recovery plan to move into the endemic phase starting April 1.

The move will encourage the tourism and business sectors to operate in full steam, he said.

Uggah, who is SDMC chairman, said the decision was made after considering factors such as risk assessment, views from the Malaysian Health Ministry and federal and state governments.

The opening of the country’s border will invoke nine guidelines based on the reviews made by the National Security Council.

International travellers are allowed into the state without the need to apply for MyTravel Pass.

But they still need to download the pre-departure form via the travellers icon in their MySejahtera App.

The standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be provided to travellers who come by land or air, for them to follow, said Uggah.

On top of that, these travellers are required to apply to Enter Sarawak and fill up the e-HDF (e-Health Declaration form).

The transition into the endemic stage is to make sure that socio-economic activities will come back to normal after people had struggled with Covid-19 for about two years, Uggah said. — Borneo Post Online