Amid concerns over the COVID-19 situation in China, Malaysian tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing has cautioned the public not to overreact to travellers arriving from China.
It would also be unfair to implement special measures on travellers from China upon their arrivals at Malaysia’s international entry points, added Tiong as he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail on Thursday (Jan 12).
“Some quarters said we should not allow tourists from China into Malaysia. I want to request that the people don’t overreact. We cannot implement special control on China’s tourists, that’s not fair,” said Tiong.
While stressing that the government will ensure the people’s health as a priority, Tiong added that there has been no COVID-19 cases reported from tourists, including those from China.
Separately, speaking to reporters on Thursday, Malaysian health minister Zaliha Mustafa said that the COVID-19 situation is still under control and so far, there is no need for the government to close the borders.
“The COVID-19 situation is under control and the people’s awareness is still good, at a high level. As such the situation does not warrant us to close the borders,” said Dr Zaliha according to Bernama.
She said there were no infections or symptoms detected at the border entry points even though Malaysia had received the arrival of about 7,000 tourists from China since Jan 8.
Dr Zaliha, however, stressed that the government is taking precautionary measures by implementing certain approaches at the nation’s checkpoints to curb infection.
