Visitors to Malaysia will be issued with digital traveler’s cards as it reopens borders

By: 3 years ago

Passengers are pictured at Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s low-cost terminal in Sepang on March 8, 2022. | PHOTO: AFP

SEPANG, Malaysia — International travelers to Malaysia will be issued with digital traveler’s cards once the country reopens its borders fully from April 1, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Saturday (March 19).

He said his ministry has been working with the Transport Ministry to ensure safe and seamless travel once the borders reopen.

“It will be a pre-departure condition for travelers intending to visit the country to download the MySejahtera app and upload their test results and fill in a form,” Mr Khairy said, referring to the government’s tracking app akin to Singapore’s TraceTogether.

“They will then be issued a traveler’s card on MySejahtera before being allowed to board the aircraft at the port of origin,” said Mr Khairy.

The digital traveler’s cards can be shown to officials who might need to check the vaccination status of the visitors.

With Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong, Mr Khairy visited the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to check on preparations to receive travellers for the April 1 reopening.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on March 8 announced that the country would reopen its borders to travellers as the nation moves into a more relaxed phase in its fight against Covid-19.

International visitors and Malaysians coming into the country from April who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, will no longer have to undergo quarantine when they arrive.

They must, however, undergo an RT-PCR test two days before departure, and a professionally administered rapid test (RTK-Antigen) within 24 hours after arrival.

Malaysia is also conducting a pilot project for the reopening of its borders, Mr Khairy said, with travellers given the option to take a Covid-19 breathalyser test instead of the RTK-Antigen test.

“Travellers will have the option to take the breathalyser test at the airport instead of the RTK test which is required to be done within 24 hours upon arrival.

“We have tested the accuracy of the breathalysers, and are satisfied with the results,” he said, adding that this new protocol would speed up the process of managing arrivals at the airport.

Mr Khairy said the new protocol for the reopening would help travellers reduce the time spent at the airport upon their arrival.

“It currently takes about an hour to get out of the airport upon disembarking the aeroplane.

“With the new procedures, it will take between 35 minutes and 45 minutes just as how it was like before,” he added.

He said the cost for the breathalyser test will be borne by the travellers. He did not say how much it would cost.

Mr Khairy also announced that the government would no longer provide free PCR tests for Malaysians returning to the country, which was done over the last two years.

Datuk Seri Wee said that since the vaccination travel lane (VTL) was introduced, a total of 277,800 visitors had entered the country.

Malaysia on Friday logged 24,421 new Covid-19 cases, with only 185 cases or 0.76 per ent of the total in Categories 3 to 5 – serious cases that required hospitalizations, said health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The government’s CovidNow website showed that 79 percent of Malaysia’s total population have been fully vaccinated, with 47.3 per cent having received booster doses.