PETALING JAYA: The Association of Belt and Road Malaysia has urged the government to gradually allow business travellers from regional trading partners, especially Asean, China and Belt & Road countries to enter Malaysia with safety conditions in place.
Its president Datuk Seri Chuah Poh Khiang said this is crucial to revitalise our external trade and investment amid slowdown in our domestic economy.
He said border closures by many countries over the past few months have severely affected global economy and trade, and caused the suspension of regional trade and business activities.
“As the Covid-19 epidemic situation in Malaysia and some countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam has stabilised, and more comprehensive safety measures were put in place by the government, it is time to consider restoring cross-border trade and investment by phases,“ Chuah said in a statement today.
With foreigners still banned from entering many countries, some countries with better control of virus outbreak have gradually eased their rules, such as Thailand’s relaxation of the permit to allow foreigners with work permit or permission to enter the country.
Chuah said the government should gradually reopening its borders with standard operating procedures (SOP) and certain safety conditions, and give priority to business travellers from countries and regions that classified as “green zone” to enter Malaysia for business purposes.
Official statistic showed that Malaysia’s export in April this year dropped 23.8% to RM64.9 billion, while import dipped by 8% to RM68.4 billion, resulted in a trade deficit of RM3.5 billion, the first monthly trade deficit in past 22 years.
The closure of airspace and travel bans have dealt a heavy blow to countries that heavily rely on international trade. As domestic economic activities have gradually restarted, the government should begin to loosen the restrictions on travel bans, in order to revitalise external sector which is crucial to support our economic growth.
Chuah said countries and regions along the Belt and Road have strong economic and trade relations with Malaysia, especially China which is among the largest trading partners of Malaysia.
“The government should consider to gradually open the door for business travellers from China and other regional countries, to promote external trade and investment and save the local enterprises and employees,” he added.
