Johor submits working papers to M'sia foreign ministry, wants S'pore border to reopen quickly

Desperate times.

Syahindah Ishak | September 11, 2020, 12:27 AM

Johor Bahru has previously expressed that it wants Malaysia's federal government to speed up the process of a full opening of Malaysia-Singapore borders.

The head of government for the state of Johor, Hasni Mohammad, has met with Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to discuss the matter.

Submitted working papers and SOPs to Malaysian foreign ministry

On Sep. 10, Hasni announced that Johor has taken another step to expedite the reopening of the borders, reported Malay Mail.

Speaking at the Johor State Assembly, he said that the Johor state government has submitted working papers and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to Malaysia's foreign ministry.

Hasni also said, according to Sinar Harian, that he hopes the Malaysian federal government will consider their effort and obtain the agreement of both countries on the matter.

Confident Johor-Singapore border can fully reopen

Hasni explained that more than 50 per cent of foreign tourist spending contributes to Johor's business sectors.

He also said that with the success of the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) and Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) since Aug. 17, he is "confident" that the Johor-Singapore border can fully reopen with a planned and effective Covid-19 SOP.

Up until Aug. 31, 8,270 individuals have used the PCA facility, and another 327 have used the RGL to cross the Johor-Singapore border, said Hasni.

Malaysians in Singapore would be able to commute home

Additionally, the Johor state government has taken "several steps" to ensure that Malaysians working in Singapore would be able to commute home.

However, Hasni did not provide any other information on this matter.

He added, as reported by Sinar Harian:

"The state government is always committed to coming up with the best solutions to solve any issues relating to the Johor-Singapore border."

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