1,440 travellers expected to use Singapore-Malaysia land VTL in first week, says Johor chief minister

ISKANDAR PUTERI — Johor's state government expects about 1,440 travellers to be using the land Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to Singapore via the Causeway and the Second Link in the first week of its implementation.

The number of people using the lane is expected to increase to 2,500 in the second week and 5,000 the following week, Johor Chief Minister Hasni Mohammad said at the second meeting of the Fourth Session of the 14th Johor State Legislative Assembly on Sunday (Nov 21).

This is based on discussions between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments, he added.

“Based on the capacity and initial preparations to open the border, in the first week the number of inbound and outbound travellers will reach 1,440,” Mr Hasni said.

“Whether these people will be using public transport or allowed to use private vehicles... this is being finalised.”

Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Saturday that the country is optimistic that the VTL with Malaysia’s land border will be launched by the end of November.

Mr Hasni expressed his hope that the opening of the land VTL, which is scheduled to run simultaneously with the air VTL on Nov 29, will not be delayed.

He said that Johor has put in place standard operating procedures (SOP) and developed a system that could help the federal government in the land VTL implementation.

“We have the Johor Travel Safe system that had assisted the federal government when the Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) and Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) were implemented,” the chief minister said.

To ensure that the procedures run smoothly, a pilot test on the land VTL will be conducted on Monday, he added.

Mr Hasni said that in principle, the state government welcomes the land VTL initiative as it is a progressive step towards the safe reopening of the country’s international borders.

“This is an important milestone for co-operation between Malaysia and Singapore, and is able to revive the economies of both countries, especially Johor,” he said.

Malaysia and Singapore, he pointed out, have have already agreed to the gradual and systematic opening of the border to enable cross-border activities to be carried out in the safest way possible.

“In addition, various issues must be given emphasis including the recognition of vaccination certificates between the two countries, the current capacity of the Johor Causeway and the Second Link, permission to access vaccination status information by Malaysia and Singapore, quarantine-free travel and compliance with health SOPs,” he said. MALAY MAIL