THE reopening of borders with Singapore and other countries reflected the Government’s confidence in restarting economic activities to rejuvenate Malaysia’s growth outlook.
“With more than 96% of our adult population fully vaccinated, it is the right call from the Government to support trade and economic landscape, along with people to people contact,” Juwai IQI chief economist Shan Saaed told FocusM.
Shan, who has more than 21 years of banking experience with world class international bank and development financial Institution, said this in response to reports that vaccinated travellers will soon be able to take flights between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Changi Airport without quarantine from Nov 29.
In a joint statement on Nov 8, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong announced the opening of Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs).
For a start, there will be six designated flights for quarantine-free travel between both countries.
Applications for the scheme will start from Nov 22 and more details on the matter will be announced soon.
According to Shan, both sides needed to demonstrate confidence so as to provide forward guidance to local businesses and global investors in general.
“Juwai IQI expect that trade / commerce between Singapore and Malaysia would touch between US$3 bil and -RM5 bil in the coming quarters,” he stated.
With that, Shan added, Malaysia’s economic outlook looked solid with growth momentum intact and stable country rating, which heralds good prospects at the macro level.
“In our opinion, regional trade in Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) will be back in full throttle as over 70% of the population are vaccinated, giving boost to business activity.
“And China is having structured growth and its economic outlook remains strong with dual circulation strategy to bolster economic growth stability,” Shan said.
Let the vaccinated travel
He pointed out that ASEAN should open borders, enhance trade and commerce, and allow trade for member countries with full SOP for the economic engine to move forward.
“We expect Malaysia’s growth for next year to hover around 4% to 5% based on the premise that domestic demand, higher commodity prices and macroeconomic stability.
“As travelers are moving in from Singapore, we can expect restaurants, hotels, resorts, malls, travellers and businesses to get busy as customer traffic increases,” Shan opined.
Meanwhile, a retiree, Nor Ainee Ismail, who has been in the tourism industry for many years said: “This decision (on VTLs) is long awaited by both Malaysians and Singaporeans, especially those who have family members and relatives across the borders.”
She also said it was a positive news for the tourism industry, which had suffered badly during the lockdown.
“Singaporeans too must be excited to finally be able to breakaway to Malaysia – free to enjoy the food and sights that they have missed out,” Nor Ainee remarked. – Nov 14, 2021
