Land VTL can be implemented before Hari Raya - PM Ismail Sabri

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is confident that Malaysia can implement the land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) by May this year.

He said the Health Ministry (MOH) would be studying several proposals on Malaysia's VTL with neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Brunei.

"The air VTL is easier to implement compared to land VTL as travellers arriving at airports can be quickly screened (for COVID-19). However, we need to avoid creating long queues of vehicles when conducting screenings at land entry points.

"We have given several proposals to the Health Ministry to find the best way to facilitate and expedite the implementation of the land VTL. I would like to stress that this matter can be settled before Hari Raya (this year)," he told a press conference for Malaysian journalists here today.

He said the land VTL, particularly between Thailand and Malaysia, was important because it not only involved tourism but also bilateral trade, especially border trade which accounted for half of the Malaysia-Thailand trade totalling US$10.5 bilion (about RM44.1 billion).