Upon the launch of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between KLIA and Changi Airport on Nov 29, arrivals will only need to take a Covid-19 test in lieu of a mandatory quarantine period.
In a joint statement, Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, said they looked forward to restoring travel across the land links between the countries in the near future.
“The VTLs are another important milestone in the longstanding Malaysia-Singapore cooperation,” said Ismail. “The VTLs will allow travel as our two countries gradually reopen our borders responsibly by balancing the need to recover our economies while ensuring the safety and health of our people from Covid-19.
“I look forward to an effective implementation of this travel scheme adding to those we developed previously to facilitate movements of people and goods between Malaysia and Singapore.”
On the announcement, Lee said he was “very happy that both our countries are finally able to restart cross-border travel through the VTLs,” as it would help rebuild the countries’ economies and restore personal and national ties.
This is the latest step in the reopening of Malaysia’s international borders, which began with the Langkawi pilot project last month.
International arrivals can visit the island without the need to quarantine, so long as they meet a number of other criteria, such as being fully vaccinated and testing negative for Covid-19.
The VTL, however, will be the first scheme to allow visitors from another country to access the rest of Malaysia.
Meanwhile, health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia was ready to discuss with the UK on opening up VTLs for its fully vaccinated citizens to enter Malaysia without having to undergo quarantine.
He said the matter had been conveyed to British foreign secretary Elizabeth Truss with the consent of foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah in their meeting in Kuala Lumpur today.
“We will discuss technical matters and we will soon announce the VTL timeline for UK travellers who want to enter Malaysia,” he said after the meeting with Truss.
Truss arrived in Malaysia on Sunday as part of her first visit to Southeast Asia since being appointed foreign secretary in September 2021.
Khairy also said he had informed Truss on Malaysia’s hopes that Malaysian travellers who had received the Sinovac vaccine would also be allowed quarantine-free entry into Britain.
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