Travellers unable to cross border checkpoint due to SOP confusion

PADANG BESAR: Confusion over the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) at the Malaysia-Thai border checkpoint in Wang Kelian here prevented some travellers from continuing with their journey today.

Checks at the Wang Kelian Immigration Post showed there was confusion among travellers from Thailand over the Covid-19 test requirements to travel into Malaysia when the border reopened at 8am today.

Thai national, Anatee J Sasn, 21, from Krabi said he and his family were travelling to Malaysia today to send his younger brother to enrol in a religious school in Sintok, Kedah.

"I have read all the SOPs to enter Malaysia and prepared all the travel documents but I made a small mistake in the Covid-19 screening.

"The Malaysian officers told me that we were supposed to do the RT-PCR test in Thailand while the RTK test was to be done in Malaysia within 24 hours after arrival.

"However, I misunderstood and only did the ATK (antigen testing kit) test in Thailand instead of the RT-PCR test as required," he said.

Following the misunderstanding, Anatee said his family had to postpone their travel to Malaysia to Monday to carry out the RT-PCR screening in Thailand.

Meanwhile, a French national who only wished to be identified as Gilles, 70, said he misunderstood that he could travel to Malaysia via the Wang Kelian checkpoint.

"I am travelling to Langkawi to check on my sailing boat which has been stranded there for the past two years.

"However, I was told that this Wang Kelian checkpoint is only designated for Thai national travellers, so I was asked to get to the Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint instead," said Gilles.

Malaysia and Thailand had reached an agreement to reopen the land borders located in Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah and Wang Kelian here beginning today.

The borders had been closed for two years following the Covid-19 outbreak.

Both governments are still negotiating over the reopening of more border checkpoints located in Kedah and Perlis.

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