Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has secured the Reciprocal Green Lane/Travel Corridor Arrangement (RGL/TCA) deal with Indonesia, an initiative which was one of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (MOTAC) recovery plans that was planned since July 2020, according to MOTAC Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
MOTAC had held consultations with the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to the four-eye meeting between the leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia to explore possibilities for travel bubble agreements with neighbouring countries during this COVID-19 pandemic situation. Nancy stated that many countries were listed for the intent, including Brunei, Singapore and Thailand, as well as Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, as the World Health Organisation recognised these places as safe.
“However, its implementation is subject to bilateral discussions and considerations on health, immigration, data tracking, and ongoing monitoring by the relevant agencies in both countries,” she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers president, Francis Teo said the opening of borders between Malaysia and Indonesia would facilitate the movement of business travellers between the two countries. In his address, Teo said that aspects of the plan will need to be clearly determined in order for the RGL/TCA to function as it is enforced until the pandemic situation in both countries progresses.
“Our members include 29 convention centre operators located in major cities in the country. We have proposed to work with the government by designating these participating venues as temporary mass vaccination centres during the vaccination delivery.
“The association is willing and prepared to work closely with the government to ensure the success of this vaccination drive.
“We hope that through this collaboration, we can facilitate the government’s goal of providing vaccination to 70% of the population, which is equivalent to 23 million Malaysians,” he said.
