He said with the US being the second biggest investor in the country, he has received a lot of positive feedback on Putrajaya’s recent announcement that borders will reopen from April 1.

“We spend a lot of time talking to American companies that have invested in Malaysia. They are all very eager for borders to reopen,” he said at a press conference here today.

“This is because, among other things, these American companies send Malaysians back to the US for training but haven’t been able to do much of that. So, all this would now be possible.”

McFeeters is on a three-day official visit to Sabah.

He said that US government officials and diplomats were also keen to visit Malaysia.

Malaysia’s borders have been closed since the first movement control order (MCO) in March 2020.

Meanwhile, McFeeters said that the US wants to renew the Fulbright English teaching assistant (ETA) programme with Malaysia that has been suspended since the imposition of the MCO in 2020.

He said the embassy was particularly proud of the programme, which places US college graduates as English teaching assistants in schools overseas, including in Malaysia.

“I think it is good for Malaysian students because they improve their English and learn more about shared American values. But it’s also very good for Americans because they really get to know about Malaysia.

“We hope to renew this partnership which has been on hold partly because of Covid-19 and partly related to government policy by Putrajaya.

“If we can get the federal government’s approval, then we would love to work with states like Sabah, so that the volunteers could come here,” McFeeters said.

Former US ambassador to Malaysia, Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir had previously said Washington and Kuala Lumpur were working to resume the programme in January 2021 but Covid-19 cases remained high and schools were closed.

Besides Sabah, it was reported that since 2006, almost 1,000 American ETAs have taught in 10 states including Terengganu, Johor, Pahang, Kelantan and Perlis.