Quiet morning at Bukit Kayu Hitam as expectations of traveller influx fizzle

BUKIT KAYU HITAM: It was a relatively quiet morning at the Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Safety Complex here Friday (April 1) morning despite an anticipated influx of travellers with the reopening of the Malaysia-Thailand border.

Changlun Bukit Kayu Hitam Taxi Association vice-president Mohd Zainuddin Makul said the expectations of taxi drivers, hawkers and tour agents near the border failed to materialise.

"Perhaps it is still early (after the reopening) and coincides with Ramadan starting this Sunday (April 3)," he said when contacted.

Zainuddin said he hoped the situation would improve by the second or third week of Ramadan as more travellers arrived.

A source with Thailand Immigration said its citizens could enter Malaysia but were not allowed to shop at the duty-free complex at Bukit Kayu Hitam.

This was decided at a joint meeting between the two countries' government agencies on Thursday (March 31), the source said, adding that Malaysia would not accept Thailand workers for the first month after the border reopened.

It is learnt that the Thai authorities will also not allow taxis and motorcycles from Malaysia to enter until further notice, while private cars and vans were permitted.

Thai nationals who want to enter Malaysia have to download the MySejahtera application and show a negative RT-PCR test result 48 hours before arrival here.