LIMBANG lawmaker Hasbi Habibollah has appealed to the Sarawak government to open negotiations with Brunei over the B$3 (RM9.65) entry and exit charges the oil-rich sultanate started imposing on land border travellers since August 1.

The fees, officially known as service charge, applies to both Brunei citizens and foreign nationals and came into force on the same day Brunei reopened its borders and lifted travel restrictions.

Hasbi, who is also deputy minister of rural development II, said the state government needs to look for ways to lighten the financial burden the fees will have on the people of Limbang who commute regularly to Lawas or Miri.

Limbang is hemmed in by Brunei proper to the south and the Brunei district of Temburong to the north.

There is only one road to Lawas or Miri to the south in the opposite direction and it passes through the sultanate.

For Limbang folk to get to Lawas, for example, they will have to pass through Temburong and a day trip would cost them over RM38.

The charges apply to all arriving and departing land border travellers with the exception of occupants of Brunei government-owned vehicles that are used for official purposes, emergency vehicles, hearses or vehicles used for funerals.

Diplomats, consular officers, children aged two and below, as well as civil servants who are on official duty are also exempted from paying the charges.

Miri is one of the top travel destinations for citizens of Brunei, particularly on weekends.

The pre-pandemic figures showed an annual average of 1.2 million Brunei citizens going to either Miri or Lawas and data from Tourism Malaysia showed Brunei residents spent B$1.16 billion (RM3.7 billion) in Malaysia in 2019. – August 3, 2022.