SARAWAK’s tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister has taken a swipe at the standard operating procedure (SOP) imposed on foreigners entering the country, describing it as rigid.

Abdul Karim Hamzah said now it is even easier for foreigners to enter Australia than Malaysia, alluding to the fact that the former was among the first few countries in the world to introduce tough entry rules at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Australia, New Zealand… They are more flexible than us. Easier to go to Australia than coming to Malaysia.”

Karim, fearful that entry requirements for foreigners could spoil the party at the state’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) in June and the pace of recovery of the state’s tourism industry, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, the National Security Council and even the Sarawak disaster management committee “should open their eyes” and see what other countries are doing as they transition to endemicity.

“Malaysia is too rigid on this.”

He said many countries have, for example, lifted the mandatory requirement to wear masks in public places. 

“In the UK (United Kingdom), Singapore, they are no longer wearing masks.” 

Nonetheless, Karim said fans of the June 17 to 19 music festival have “nothing much to worry about” even though he had stated his ministry and the festival organisers “will make sure the physical concert adheres to the guidelines of the National Security Council and the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee to ensure the safety of physical concertgoers”. 

He said this is because he expects that in the next two months, entry requirements for foreigners will be further eased, making it easier for them to come to Malaysia. 

Currently, foreigners need to show they are Covid-19-negative on entry to Sarawak, and an RT-PCR test should be taken three days before entry. 

On arrival at their first point of entry in the state, they would have to take another test, this time the Covid-19 RTK antigen swab test, which would be done by trained medical personnel. 

The test is the first step in determining if they have active coronavirus infection. They would have to bear the cost of the test.

In the event tested positive, they would be taken to a quarantine hotel and they will have to foot the bill of their stay there until they are cleared of the virus. – April 14, 2022.