The chief minister of Johor Bahru hopes Malaysia and Singapore can resume talks on reopening the borders and both countries can make travel arrangements.

This comes after Malaysia's Covid-19 immunisation programme has been initiated, Bernama reported.

Chief Minister Hasni Mohammad told reporters before receiving his vaccination on March 1: "Opening of borders, the green travel bubble, all other arrangements should be considered upon completion of vaccination."

Those who received the Covid-19 vaccination in Malaysia would be given a certificate as proof, he said.

However, Hasni emphasised that any decision to reopen borders in the state should take into account the Health Director-General’s statement, which gives out orders as part of the federal government.

The Health-Director General's statement pertains to the Malaysia government only revisiting the movement control order (MCO) when 80 per cent of the population has been inoculated.

Currently, several states in Malaysia remain under Covid-19 restrictions, where interstate and inter-district travel are limited or prohibited.

Registration of vaccination in Malaysia low

One outstanding issue at the moment is the low take-up rate for Covid-19 vaccination in Malaysia.

Coordinating Minister for Malaysia’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, Khairy Jamaluddin, said on Monday that registration for the vaccine remains low.

Only about 1.5 million people have registered for the vaccination via the MySejahtera mobile app.

This comes up to barely 6.1 per cent of the 80 per cent target set for the country.

Khairy said more people are expected to sign up for Covid-19 vaccination after March 5, when registrations can be conducted over the phone and online.

Background

On Feb. 1, Singapore suspended reciprocal green lane (RGL) arrangements with Malaysia, Germany, South Korea for three months.

The RGL arrangements will be reviewed at the end of the suspension period.

Singapore regularly reviews its border measures to manage the risk of importation and onward local transmission of Covid-19 from travellers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said.

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