By Olivia Miwil - March 9, 2022 @ 12:31pm
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will greatly benefit from the much-awaited reopening of the country's border beginning next month, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said.
He was referring to the announcement by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday that the country would welcome international visitors starting April 1.
Hajiji said Sabah's economy had been badly affected since the closing of international borders some two years ago as tourism was among the state's main source of revenue.
He added that the state had been preparing for this moment to welcome visitors and boost its economy.
However, he said Sabah would wait for more details following the announcement to adjust its Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP).
"In my numerous engagements with tourism industry players, this (reopening of borders) is what they have been pushing for," he said in a statement.
Recently, Hajiji had a lengthy discussion with Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) national president Datuk K. L. Tan who had appealed for the reopening of international borders.
The prime minister in a special announcement on Tuesday said Malaysians with valid travel documents could enter and leave the country as they did before the pandemic.
Fully-vaccinated travelers do not need to undergo quarantine upon returning to Malaysia. Instead, they would only need to get tested for Covid-19 prior to their departure and upon arrival.
Ismail Sabri had said the decision to reopen borders was made based on "science and the latest facts" about Covid-19, stating that other countries had also started reopening their borders.
The country's borders had been closed since the first movement control order in March 2020.
Comments
Post a Comment