SINGAPORE, July 26 — Singapore and Malaysia are looking to start discussions on cross-border commuting for general travellers but these will be at least "a couple of weeks” away as operational details need to be worked out, and both sides also need to monitor the Covid-19 situation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said this today, shortly after finalising with his Malaysian counterpart details to kick start the reopening of cross-border travel between the two countries for diplomats, senior business executives and some workers.

"Give us a couple of weeks to monitor the figures, both in Malaysia and in Singapore, and as we gain greater confidence that the control of the pandemic is well executed in both places. We can then begin the discussions for how we can allow daily commuting,” he said.

Yesterday, Malaysia reported 23 new Covid-19 cases, including three imported cases from Singapore, while the Republic reported an additional 513 cases of infection, including two in the community and six imported cases.

Dr Balakrishnan was speaking to reporters at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building in Woodlands after a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein at the mid-way point of the Johor-Singapore Causeway on Sunday morning.

During the meeting, the two ministers agreed on "all key aspects” of the Reciprocal Green Lane and Periodic Commuting Arrangement, which means that applications for both schemes will open on Aug 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement afterwards.

The Reciprocal Green Lane is to allow for cross border travel for "essential business and official purposes”. These travellers will have to submit a "controlled itinerary” to the receiving country and adhere to it during their visit.

Dr Balakrishnan noted that the group of travellers who would qualify encompasses chief executive officers or senior business executives "who need to conduct negotiations, or very sensitive business arrangements”.

The Periodic Commuting Arrangement is to allow Singapore and Malaysia residents, who hold long-term immigration passes for business and work purposes in the other country, to enter that country to work. After at least three consecutive months in their country of work, they will be able to return to their home for a "short-term home leave”.

Detailed requirements, health protocols and application processes involved for such entry and exit will be published "shortly”, the MFA added, noting that eligible travellers will have to abide by "mutually agreed terms and prevailing public health measures in both countries”.

This includes swab tests on both sides of the border — one pre-departure and another one upon arrival — Dr Balakrishnan said. "All the arrangements that we are making are reciprocal. Both sides will do what we need to do in order to secure public health.”

Following the tests, he said Reciprocal Green Lane travellers will be "held in abeyance, in isolation” while waiting for the swab test results. Only after the results are cleared will the travellers be able to proceed with their properly-defined itinerary.

"It is a limited itinerary. In a sense, we refer to this as a bubble wrap itinerary,” Dr Balakrishnan added.

Arrangements essential to reboot, restart economic activities

During the meeting, the two ministers also "reaffirmed” the importance of co-operation amid the pandemic and agreed to continue discussions on further schemes to "progressively restore” cross-border travel for other groups of travellers, the MFA said.

Elaborating on this aspect, Dr Balakrishnan said that "quite a few more” operational details need to be sorted out, including the availability of mass-scale testing on both sides of the causeway, noting that it was the world’s busiest land crossing before Covid-19 struck.

Dr Balakrishnan said Sunday’s agreement was a "significant” one.

Pointing to the empty causeway, he said: "This is the most unusual picture… We are not ready to go back to (the original) pace yet. But nevertheless, we do want to make a start, and we do want to do so in a way which protects public health.

"We believe it can be done and with all the precautions and all the arrangements that have been made, we will get there.”

The current arrangements "will be essential as both of us continue to reboot, restart and increase the pace of our economic activities”, he added.

On the case of Dickson Yeo, a Singaporean who had pleaded guilty in a United States court to acting under the direction of Chinese intelligence officials to obtain sensitive information from Americans, Dr Balakrishnan said that he has no "privilege information” apart from what has already been published in the media.

He added that the MFA’s duty is to provide consular assistance to Yeo, "according to his needs”. — TODAY