GEORGE TOWN – The Indonesian consulate in Penang has been receiving inquiries from their citizens requesting to have the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) extended to the state.
Indonesians, especially those living across the Straits of Malacca in Sumatra, have been consistently receiving medical treatments in Penang.
Following nearly two years of closed international borders, they are hoping to enter the state to resume their medical treatment.
According to Indonesian Consulate-General to Penang Bambang Suharto, Indonesia and Malaysia have been discussing a VTL arrangement between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur vice versa.
“We do hope both countries will soon reach an agreement on opening this corridor.
Indonesia has only opened two entry points for international travels, namely Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Manado’s Sam Ratulangi International Airport.
“As for medical tourism, both countries have been putting priorities on opening Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur VTL,” he told The Vibes.
Before the VTL commences, he said there are three technical issues to look at which are the interoperability of Malaysia’s MySejahtera and Indonesia’s PeduliLindungi apps, mutual recognition of vaccines and the standardisation of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction Covid-19 test.
He said that technical teams from both sides have been engaging in fruitful discussions on these matters.
In 2018, 245,000 Indonesians arrived in Penang. It then increased to 275,000 in 2019. The majority of the tourists entered the state to get medical treatments.
“There are some patients from Indonesia currently in Penang, all undergoing medical treatments for conditions requiring critical treatments.
“They have been given the green light to enter the country after undergoing a strict approval process from Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council.
“Before the pandemic, we had daily flights between Penang and several Indonesian cities; Jakarta, Banda Aceh, and of course Medan.
Indonesians who came to Penang were not only for medical service purposes, but some of them came here as tourists, workers, and students.
“When we have a VTL between Penang and Indonesia (mostly Medan), I hope that medical tourism will be a priority,” he added. – The Vibes, December 9, 2021
