Key Information for Travelers to Malaysia.
Dear Friends of Malaysia,
Our government has imposed travel restrictions from the state of Sabah to the Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Labuan effective October 12 until October 25 following the surge of the new COVID-19 cases.
However, those who receive special exemptions that require police permission such as emergency cases, death in a family as well as other essential services, still need to undergo COVID-19 screening at the entry points of their destinations.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 screening is also mandatory for entry into Sabah as permission is only given to Sabahans with the ‘H’ code in their MyKad and their spouses, as well as non-Sabahans in essential services including students, with valid passes issued by the State Immigration Department.
Federal civil servants based in Sabah, on the other hand, must obtain the Section 66 (1)(d) of the Immigration Act stamp at the Sabah Immigration Department’s office upon entering the state.
As for now, our Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia is not considering of implementing a nationwide Movement Control Order (MCO) or a total lockdown because it could lead to the collapse of the social and economic systems of the nation. But the authorities would instead enforce Targeted Enhanced MCO (TEMCO) in areas with a high number of cases.
Starting October 6, the government has imposed the TEMCO on Alor Setar Prison in Kedah including staff quarters for 14 days, following a spike in COVID-19 cases and therefore, all movement in and out of the area, including visits by detainees’ families, will not be allowed.
In Sabah, Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) is enforced on Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan starting October 7 followed by Sandakan, Papar and Tuaran effective October 9. One district in Selangor, Klang, which is also classified as COVID-19 red zone, will be under CMCO from October 9 onwards.
During the CMCO, people are not easily allowed to leave or enter these areas, and only essential services will be allowed to operate.
The government has also announced that the police inspectors can now issue compounds to individuals who are not adhering to the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) on the spot.
As of October 7, Malaysia recorded 489 new cases of COVID-19, totalling 13,993 cases nationwide whereas the total recovery rate is at 75.04%. The total deaths are 141 cases or 1.01% of the confirmed cases.
