Are Singapore borders open?

Singapore and Malaysia are in the middle of a talk to reopen the borders soon. The people of both countries have not seen each other directly since the pandemic started in March 2020. Not only affecting the economic and social activities, but the closure also separates the families from both countries.

This latent problem leads to numerous mental problems for some people, as far as triggering divorces between married couples who live apart.

Reopening proposal

Malaysia's Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah addressing the matters to the attention of Malaysia's Covid-19 committee. According to this source, Malaysia's Health Minister is also reaching out to the Singaporean authorities in order to reopen the borders between the two countries safely.

The reopening of borders will pave the way for both countries to further reopen the air routes with other countries

The plans

There are some initial scenarios that are being considered right now. For example, Tebrau MP Steven Choong proposes that Malaysians who are fully vaccinated are allowed to return home once a month to see their family.

Previously, a Reciprocal Green Lane between Singapore and Malaysia was applicable for Singaporeans who have subsidiary companies in Malaysia. However, this policy was not beneficial for thousands of other Malaysians, especially the blue-collar workers in Singapore.

Whatever the decision is, the new arrangement shall help as much as Malaysians to return to their country briefly before returning to Singapore to get back to work.

Johor border

Separately, a proposal for Johor border reopening is ready to be submitted. This proposal will be the first step for Putrajaya to reopen its border with Singapore. The reopening plan is applied through the Daily Commuting Arrangement (DCA) and will soon be followed by the proposal of standard operating procedures.

The DCA will support the movement of up to 30.000 commuters across two lands.

Once the Special Committee on Pandemic Management approves, the border reopening between Malaysia and Singapore will be closer to reality than ever.

To support this scheme, the authority is working on updating the numbers of vaccinated Johor residents, especially those who are vaccinated in Singapore. Although Johor is entering phase two of the National Recovery Plan, the state needs to achieve the target of 90% vaccinated adults when the current number is over 73%. With the vaccination program for teenagers started on Monday, Johor is hopeful that the plan will continue and be able to be implemented in the near time.

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