KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has fully reopened its international borders today after two years, giving long-awaited freedoms to vaccinated citizens and their relatives to return home.
While the travel restrictions and border control measures came into place to manage the spread of Covid-19 at the start of the pandemic, it has also controversially separated families.
Malaysians took to social media to welcome back fellow citizens and their relatives.
Emotions ran high at the Singapore-Malaysia land border at 12.01 am earlier today as Malaysians made their way into the country.
Photographs and video clips of Malaysians cheering, waving, and even running across the checkpoints while uttering "Malaysia Boleh" were shared online.
"The emotions on this bridge that connects these two countries, I cannot imagine! Welcome home Malaysians to Malaysia and Singaporeans to Singapore," @rayyanharies tweeted.
"Borders have reopened. Welcome back #malaysians. Malaysia truly #asia," another wrote.
"Welcome back, Malaysians. It's been a while. Heartwarming to see that you are now reunited with your families," @zikriibrahim7 tweeted.
Bernama reported that two minutes before the countdown, many people could be seen walking from the Singapore Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex towards Malaysia, resulting in those waiting over here to cheer with unbridled joy.
Shouts of "welcome back" and "selamat kembali" to Malaysia could be heard from those gathered at the R&F Mall near the Johor Causeway as they arrived in great fanfare, with fireworks being let off in the background.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin also extended his warm welcome to returning Malaysians and foreign travellers.
"Malaysia is open for international travellers again today. Find out what you need to do when you arrive in Malaysia. This applies to all travellers except those travelling from Singapore who are exempted from on-arrival testing. #ReopeningSafely," he tweeted.
He also shared a short video clip (1:42) to welcome travellers and explain what needs to be done upon arrival.
"Welcome to Malaysia. I am delighted to say that Malaysia is now open for all to visit. For those of you who have missed our sumptuous foods, our lush tropical forests, our picturesque islands and yes, us, friendly Malaysians, welcome back. We have missed you.
"For those who are visiting for the first time, a very warm welcome and selamat datang to beautiful Malaysia. We aim to make your travel experience as safe and smooth as possible and have now dropped quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers.
"By now, you should have gone through and followed the pre-departure procedure and have downloaded our MySejahtera app. Once you disembark from the plane, simply head to the immigration get your passport stamped, grab your luggage and off you go.
"The one other thing you need to do is get a supervised rapid test (RTK-Antigen) at a health facility of your choice within 24 hours of your arrival.
"If you prefer to get a test at the airport, you can do so at the private testing facilities that are available there. That's it. Keep your mask on, stay safe and have a wonderful stay in Malaysia," Khairy said in the video.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had earlier said the decision to reopen the borders was made after careful deliberation on various aspects including the national vaccination programme and economy, with risk management conducted by the authorities.
Ismail Sabri had said the decision was made based on three fundamentals, namely scientific data, comparisons with the border reopening of other countries, and to provide convenience to travellers.