Singapore-Malaysia VTL starts Nov 29; businesses look to reopening of land links
Businesses welcomed the news of an upcoming vaccinated travel lane (VTL) between Singapore and Malaysia but eagerly await the resumption of travel via land links which is seen as just as - if not more - important.
Singapore and Malaysia's Prime Ministers announced on Monday (Nov 8) that travellers would be able to fly quarantine-free between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Nov 29.
They also said in the joint statement that they are looking to restore travel across the land links between both countries in the near future. They noted "good progress" in ongoing talks to establish a similar vaccinated travel scheme to reopen travel across the Causeway and the Second Link, connecting Singapore and Johor.
Under the VTL, fully vaccinated travellers will be able to travel between Changi Airport and KLIA and test for Covid-19 instead of having to serve quarantine or a Stay Home Notice (SHN) period. To enter Singapore, they will need to present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or professionally administered antigen rapid test (ART) test result taken 48 hours prior to departure, as well as take an on-arrival PCR test. Singapore's Ministry of Health has updated its public health assessment, placing Malaysia in Category 2 from Nov 12, while applications for the VTL will commence from Nov 22.
"The air link will be welcome, but the land link is in dire need by the business community," Kurt Wee, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME), told The Business Times, adding that this would help regularise the flow of workers, goods and materials. This is also expected to help curb rising costs.
Wee hopes to see land travel between the 2 countries re-introduced within the next 1 to 2 months, giving a buffer for the situation to stabilise so that businesses to get some momentum going after Chinese New Year.
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"The land link is something that businesses are very much looking forward to," said Singapore Business Federation (SBF) chief Lam Yi Young, pointing to the regular flow of both workers and consumers between Singapore and Johor prior to the pandemic outbreak. Quarantine-free travel to Malaysian destinations such as Malacca and Penang would also be welcome, Lam highlighted.
A recent survey by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) showed that Malaysia ranks high on the list as a destination for Singaporean firms looking to expand. SCCCI president Roland Ng said that doing away with quarantine and SHN would save local businesses "much time and cost".
And as Malaysian workers in Singapore are likely to seize the opportunity to return home to see their families, this is something that businesses here will have to manage, such as by asking employees to space out their leave, suggested Lam.
ASME's Wee reckons that any outflow of workers from Singapore would be short term, and even out over time.
Meanwhile, the cap on daily arrivals across the VTL scheme will result in constraints which means that people would need to ensure they can secure their return before they leave, pointed out Straits Construction's chief operating officer Kenneth Loo. While he welcomed the news of quarantine-free travel to Malaysia, VTLs with South Asia and the Philippines would be more beneficial to construction firms such as itself, he added.
Singapore-Kuala Lumpur was the busiest international air route in the world before the pandemic struck, with about 40 flights per day and some 7,000 travellers touching down at Changi Airport daily. Under the VTL scheme, there will be six daily designated services between Changi Airport and KLIA.
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said: "The VTLs will allow travel as our two countries gradually reopen our borders responsibly by balancing the need to recover our economies while ensuring safety and health of our people from Covid-19."
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: "Singapore and Malaysia enjoy deep, warm and multi-faceted relations. I am very happy that both our countries are finally able to restart cross-border travel through the VTLs. This will help revive our economies, restore our people-to-people ties, and strengthen our bilateral relationship."
In addition, Singapore will be extending the VTL scheme to include Sweden and Finland from Nov 29. As such, the daily quota of vaccinated travellers who can enter Singapore across the entire VTL scheme will be bumped up from 4,000 currently to 6,000. The new daily arrivals limit works out to 8 per cent of the total daily arrivals at Changi Airport prior to the pandemic.
At a media briefing on Monday, Minister for Transport, S Iswaran, said: "We will closely monitor the situation and progressively extend the VTL scheme to more countries, guided by the Ministry of Health's public health assessment and risk categorisation, as well as operational considerations like the digital verification of the vaccination status of travellers."
Singapore is also in talks with partners in the Middle East as well as the Asia Pacific, he added. Before this, Singapore had announced VTLs with 13 other countries, including Australia and the United States.
Chris Humphrey, executive director of the EU-Asean Business Council, sees the latest relaxation of travel curbs as a step in the right direction but went on to say: "What we need is faster and more open movement on this issue and having VTLs open to all airlines to ensure prices are competitive."
"Additionally, the whole of the Asean region needs to move faster and deliver on the mooted Asean travel corridor. Technology solutions already exist to allow test results and vaccine status to be shared," he added.
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