Malaysia agrees to entry of Singaporeans, Bruneians in principle

Malaysia has in principle agreed to allow Singaporeans and Bruneians to enter the country's borders without having to apply to the Malaysian Immigration Department, or undergo COVID-19 screening and quarantine at home.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said, however, this was subject to the same relaxations given to Malaysians by the Singapore and Brunei governments over the matter.

"This is Malaysia's consent in the form of reciprocity, with Singapore and Brunei at the same time giving Malaysians the freedom to enter their country without any restrictions," he said during his press conference on the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) here today.

Ismail Sabri, who is also the Minister of Defence, said Wisma Putra was currently discussing the matter with Singapore’s Foreign Ministry, and Malaysia's decision to provide such relaxations would be in line with the decisions made in the discussions.

He said, the permission to enter Malaysia without restrictions would only be granted to Singaporeans and Bruneians who were living in their respective countries, adding that the two countries, as well as New Zealand and Australia, were currently classified as Green Zones by the Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said, foreigners who entered the country legally before the Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18, had ample time to renew their visas as the Immigration Department had been in operation since the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) last month.

Therefore, he said the department had its own basis to detain those currently deemed to have overstayed. - BERNAMA