KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — Singapore’s National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said that preventive measures and safeguards against Covid-19 must be in place before regular travel should resume between his country and Malaysia.
In a press conference yesterday, Wong said that negotiations with Putrajaya to allow Malaysians in Johor Baru to commute to Singapore for work was part of larger and ongoing discussions with different countries.
“The same principle will apply... we will welcome these travellers. We want to see the resumption of travel, but it has to be done in a safe way. And that would mean looking at testing protocols in place on both sides.
“Measures, safeguards and precautions have to be put in place to ensure the resumption of safe travel between Singapore and Malaysia, so we are discussing all these with our Malaysian counterparts, (including) exactly how many people, what kinds of protocols will be put in place and which industries (will be involved)," he was quoted as saying in a Channel News Asia report.
Before such travel can resume, testing may be carried out and a quarantine period to be imposed or a combination of both measures. He also noted that travel volume will not be as high as before the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Wong pointed out that things will not go back to before the Singaporean government implement its circuit breaker (their version of the movement control order, or MCO). He added that there will not be large volumes of daily commuters coming in and out of Singapore freely.
“We are talking about resumption of travel, but in a controlled manner and in a safe manner for both sides. That's in our mutual interest,” he reportedly said.
Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced yesterday that the special ministerial meeting on the MCO had agreed to allow Malaysians to travel back and forth between Johor Bahru and Singapore.
The implementation will only start after Wisma Putra has finished negotiations with its Singaporean counterpart and Ismail Sabri added that Putrajaya is willing to agree to any conditions imparted by its neighbor.
