Wake up call for the Muhyiddin administration after the suspension of RGL by Singapore

The Singapore government had announced today that the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) arrangement with Malaysia will be suspended for three months starting 1 Feb 2021. This comes a day after Malaysia recorded the highest ever daily new confirmed Covid-19 cases of 5725 on 29 January.

This suspension of the RGL is a direct result of the failure of the Muhyiddin administration in their fight against the pandemic.

Malaysians have to remember that the current spread of the virus, which can now be described as already out of control, all started because of the inconsistency of enforcement of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by the Muhyiddin led government since the Sabah state election.

The inability to contain the pandemic has already caused the suspension of the RGL and the massive lorry jam along the causeway and Second Link happening daily. If the pandemic situation worsens, it is not impossible that the Periodic Commuting Arrangement might be suspended too, or in the worst case scenario, a total border closure similar to that of last year might happen also.

Thousands of small businesses in Johor Bahru depend heavily on the human traffic between Johor Bahru and Singapore. These businesses are the worst hit sector during the pandemic. If the Muhyiddin administration continues to let the pandemic worsen, there will be no hope that the current economy situation can improve any time soon.

The Muhyiddin administration must get their act together now.

The nation does not need to keep entering into MCO or CMCO, or the constant changing of the SOP. It not only creates more confusion to the general public, but will also lead to non-compliance of the SOP.

What the nation needs now is a clear and well-thought SOP based on science and scientific data. There is no point in barring small businesses from operations when most of the new clusters now are coming from factories which are still allowed to operate. The SOP must then be implemented fairly to everyone, with punishments of non-compliance being applied to everyone equally, high ranking officials included, and not just on the rakyat.

Only when the total number of cases in Malaysia comes down as a whole, will the Malaysia economy see any meaningful improvement.

Only when the total number of cases in Malaysia comes down as a whole, will we be able to resume any plans of reopening up the border so that specifically the economy in Johor Bahru can improve.

Joint statement by:
Andrew Chen Kah Eng
ADUN Stulang

Liow Cai Tung
ADUN Johor Jaya