PRIOR to the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March, some 250,000 people travelled between Malaysia and Singapore each day, either for work or leisure.
Then, we went into partial lockdown under the MCO. The Causeway then became something like the Demilitarised Zone, or DMZ, between the two Koreas. That all will change come Aug 10, when there will be a partial lifting of restrictions barring travel between Malaysia and Singapore.
Under the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) schemes, travel between our two countries will be allowed for those on work or official purposes.
The RGL specifically allows those on essential business or official purposes to cross the border, while the PCA is for those with long-term Immigration passes to enter either country for work.
This is a further step in the recovery of the economy, and an essential one considering Singapore is our second biggest partner in terms of trade. But it is also good news for the estimated 45,000 Malaysians who have jobs in Singapore, not to mention the 20,000 or so who have been stranded in the island republic.
It is also a sign that things are going well in terms of the number of Covid-19 cases we have. We are feeling more and more confident, so much so that more sectors of the economy are resuming operations and our borders are slowly, but surely, being opened up.
Nevertheless, there is still a need for caution. Those crossing the Causeway will have to follow strict procedures, such as being swabbed for possible Covid-19 infection.
That is good as we do not, in any way, want to have another wave of infections just because we needed to open our borders. It is also good that, for now, we are only allowing people to cross for work purposes. It is still too early to allow crossings for leisure. Tourism can come later.
It would be a shame if we let our guard down in our enthusiasm to reopen our borders and our economic activities. We must take a lesson from Melbourne and other cities in the Australian state of Victoria.
Earlier this month, a second surge of infections saw these cities being locked down again for at least six weeks. There is a sizeable Malaysian community in Melbourne. Some Malaysians there told this paper that they were not surprised by the lockdown as residents of Melbourne were lackadaisical about precautions prescribed by health experts to avoid contracting Covid-19.
In fact, just a few days ago, an epidemiologist told the paper that two things had led to the lockdown in Melbourne — complacency and imported cases. And this is exactly what we could very well be facing with the reopening of the Causeway.
In short, we need to be on our toes in ensuring that no one who could possibly be positive for Covid-19 can enter our country.
At a time when our local transmission rate is really low, it is imported cases that we must be vigilant against. Just one imported case from the reopening of borders could be enough to start a new cluster.
This will see our numbers shoot up again, the work start all over again, and all the efforts of frontliners before this come to waste.