Key Information for Travelers to Malaysia.
Dear Friends of Malaysia,
Our government has decided to place the entire nation under Movement Control Order (MCO) except Sarawak following a surge of COVID-19 cases. Six more states will face restrictions for two weeks in Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Kedah, Perlis, Pahang and Terengganu, beginning January 22 until February 4.
Previously, the MCO has also been imposed in Kelantan effective January 16 to 26 due to the same reason.
Meanwhile, our Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has announced the PERMAI Assistance Package - the fifth economic stimulus package worth RM15 billion, which aimed at combating COVID-19 pandemic while safeguarding people’s welfare and supporting business continuity with a total of 22 initiatives to be implemented.
The initiatives include the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme and enhancing collaboration with private hospitals to receive and treat both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. Besides, more workers will be hired to strengthen the healthcare system with more COVID-19 employee health screening, including foreign workers.
In terms of protecting people’s welfare, the main focus is to help those affected by the MCO, especially the vulnerable groups and informal workers who depend on daily wages. The government has decided to continue the bank moratorium assistance and the reduction of loan repayment instalments.
The tax relief period for the purchases of mobile phones, computers and tablets will also be extended. The same goes to the tax exemption for passenger vehicles and the provision of 1GB free internet access given by our telecommunication industry.
In supporting business continuity, initiatives include one-off financial assistance for tourist guides, taxi and bus drivers, and 10 per cent discount on electric bills from January until March to six business sectors across the country, comprising hotel operators, theme parks, convention centres, shopping malls, local airline offices as well as travel and tour agencies.
As of January 20, another 2,374 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far in Malaysia, and the overall COVID-19 recovery rate is at 75.4%. At the same time, Malaysia also recorded 4,008 new cases, totalling 169,379 cases nationwide. The total deaths are 630 cases or 0.4% of the confirmed cases.
