Malaysia could be opening up to international tourists including travellers from Singapore "very soon", Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri has said.
She is due to meet Singapore officials this week to discuss the resumption of cross-border travel between the two neighbours, which she expects to happen as soon as next month, when Malaysia is aiming to reopen its borders to international tourists.
Visitors from the city state could be among the first to be allowed into the country, she said.
"We are open (to) Singapore as long as Singapore is open to us as well," Datuk Seri Nancy told CNBC's Street Signs Asia show last Thursday. When asked when she expected an arrangement with Singapore might be worked out, she said she was "very optimistic that it should be by November".
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, a high volume of people crossed the Causeway in Woodlands and the Second Link in Tuas daily to visit families or to work.
Before the borders closed in March last year, roughly half a million people from both countries made daily trips between Singapore and Johor.
More than 100,000 Malaysians are estimated to be stuck in Singapore since the borders were closed, and they are hoping to be reunited with families back home.
Present cross-border travel with Malaysia is facilitated by the Periodic Commuting Arrangement scheme and the framework for emergency visits in cases of deaths or critical illness.
Following Malaysia's reopening of its Langkawi island resort under a travel bubble programme for fully vaccinated domestic tourists last month, more than 128,000 people have gone to the island by sea or air as at Oct 16, Ms Nancy said.
Malaysia on Oct 11 lifted a ban on interstate travel as it transitions to an endemic phase of living with the coronavirus, and has allowed the economy to reopen amid a rising vaccination rate.
The country is in the process of administering the Covid-19 vaccination to teenagers, as well as booster shots to high-risk groups.
Malaysia recorded 5,828 new infections yesterday, the 21st day that daily caseloads have remained under 10,000 a day.
A total of 94.4 per cent of adults in Malaysia and 72.2 per cent of its total population have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the government has said it will allow foreign tourists to visit Langkawi from mid-November in a pilot project, as the country readies to reopen its international tourism sector. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Friday said fully vaccinated foreign travellers will be allowed to visit the island off the state of Kedah for a minimum of three days - without having to quarantine.
He announced yesterday a new foundation to support 5,173 children who lost one or both parents to the virus. He also said the government would allocate more funds to six least developed states such as Sarawak and Kelantan "to narrow the economic gap".
