Abdul Karim gestures during the press conference. – Photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (March 29): Sarawak will continue to welcome foreign visitors to the state so long as they abide by the entry protocols set by the Sarawak government, says Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He said there were no plans to bar certain visitors from entering the state in the event that the visitors concerned hailed from a country which had been placed under Covid-19 lockdown.
“The procedure to enter Sarawak has already been released.
“So if there are travellers from China who want to come, it (Sarawak’s international borders) is open as long as they follow the procedure,” he told a press conference after chairing the 54th Sarawak United National Youth Organisation (Saberkas) Supreme Council meeting here yesterday.
He was asked to comment on the latest report that China’s Shanghai has been placed under a two-stage lockdown to contain surging Covid-19 cases and whether Sarawak was considering to bar the entry of visitors from China.
“Just because they (Shanghai) are under lockdown, we cannot say (visitors from) China cannot come.
“Whichever country a foreign visitor is from, they have to follow our rules if they want to enter Sarawak,” he stressed.
The state government on Sunday released the general protocols for the reopening of Sarawak’s international borders which take effect this Friday (April 1).
Among the protocols are that Malaysians and non-Malaysians who are arriving from overseas by air are required to have proof of their vaccination certificate; a negative RT-PCR test result (taken two days before departure); to fill in the pre-departure form under the ‘Traveller Icon’ of the MySejahtera app; as well as non-Malaysians must have Covid-19 travel insurance.
Abdul Karim pointed out that those who are entering Sarawak from overseas no longer need to apply for EnterSarawak or fill up the E-Health declaration form.
“This shows that we have reached the endemic stage.
“Although there are certain protocols that visitors need to comply with to enter Sarawak and they will also be subjected to quarantine if they are found positive, what is crucial is that our international borders will open this April 1,” he said.
He also said that his ministry along with other agencies involved in the tourism industry welcomed the opening of Sarawak’s international borders.
“We feel relieved because finally we have reached this stage where our borders are finally going to reopen. This is the time I have been waiting for,” he added.
According to him, meetings to organise various events in Sarawak have already taken place.
“We will look at the organisation of these events and I believe that after June the number of tourism programmes and activities will go up.
“Whether it is the Rainforest World Music Festival, Kuching International Marathon, Food and Cultural Festival or Borneo Jazz Festival, these events have to go on,” he said.
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