Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad told the CNA news agency that the decision by both governments to implement the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) was timely and fulfilled the urgent need.
On Johor’s proposal for the Daily Commuting Arrangement (DCA), Hasni said this would allow up to 30,000 commuters every day.
To facilitate this, he said the state government planned to issue travel passes every 10 days. The commuters could use the passes to travel across the border three times during that period.
“We have also suggested the use of nine accredited laboratories, capable of carrying out Covid-19 testing on travellers. We will invite local health professionals to step up testing and screening procedures.”
He said this scheme will prove useful for students as well as Malaysians employed in the republic who need to commute regularly.
The state hoped all these travelling arrangements would eventually pave the way for the full reopening of the borders once the Covid-19 situation improved. This is necessary to boost Johor’s economy, which has been battered by the pandemic.
Before border restrictions were implemented in March, around 300,000 Malaysians used to travel to Singapore for work daily. The restrictions have now left many of them out of work.
“It is the right decision to allow (resumption of) travel in stages.
“Looking at the numbers under the RGL category, we notice that it helps a lot of businessmen and corporate individuals to carry on with their routines.
“And for those holding work permits, the SOPs introduced for PCA fit them well. We will continue to improve as far as the procedures go.”
The PCA allows Singapore and Malaysian citizens or permanent residents, who hold long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes, to enter for work.
The RGL is for Malaysian and Singapore residents keen to do shorter-term travel of up to 14 days, for essential business and official purposes.
Hasni said future arrangements that facilitated daily commuting would depend on the rate of compliance with safety protocols.
Factors like testing procedures and screening processes will have to be ironed out before both Singapore and Malaysia are confident about reopening the border to more travellers.
Hasni said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had given an assurance that a special committee would convene on the request for daily travel under the DCA initiative.
However, he acknowledged the recent rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country would have a bearing on any arrangements with the republic.
On Friday, Singapore announced it will impose a 14-day stay-home order at dedicated facilities for all travellers entering from Malaysia, including those on RGL or PCA.
During the interview, Hasni said he was confident the recent spike in cases would not impact the implementation of the DCA.
“When everybody is satisfied with the current SOPs, I don’t see why there’s a need to delay the DCA,” he added.