Johor menteri besar Hasni Mohammad said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today agreed with the state’s request to be actively involved in the matter after listening to a 90-minute development briefing.

“We will look at what the state government can do to help expedite the opening of the border between Johor and Singapore.

“The prime minister has agreed that Johor should be directly involved as we are not only looking at the border opening, but also other issues,” he told reporters after a meeting between Ismail and the Johor Umno liaison committee here today.

Apart from the opening of the border, he said efforts were being made to identify Johor residents who were still working in Singapore and whose vaccinations were registered on MySejahtera, as well as commercial vehicle drivers who had entered the republic but returned after their RTK tests were positive.

Hasni said SOPs proposed by Johor for the border opening were also presented at the meeting.

Among the SOPs were recognition of both Malaysian and Singaporean digital vaccination certificates, and Covid-19 screening when entering and returning, whether 48 or 72 hours before the journey, which both countries need to agree to.

“Cases are still rising in Singapore and we need to obtain their agreement to discuss the SOPs we submitted,” he said.

Ismail was in Johor for a one-day working visit and was granted an audience with the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar at Istana Pasir Pelangi here.