BUKIT KAYU HITAM – The high anticipation in the last few months over Thailand’s move to reopen its borders for Malaysian visitors has quickly fizzled out as the kingdom’s new entry requirement has turned out to be financially burdensome and inconvenient to many.
Leisure travellers say they now need to spend more than RM1,000 to comply with the Thai government’s requirements to enter the country.
Foreigners coming across the Malaysian land border are required to undergo a RT-PCR test on arrival in Thailand at an estimated cost of RM400.
They are additionally required to purchase health insurance coverage of US$20,000 (RM84,430) at an estimated cost of RM500, and arrange a day’s hotel stay in Hatyai, which is close to the Bukit Kayu Hitam border checkpoint, easily costing between RM200 to RM500.
A check at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigrations, Customs, Quarantine and Security complex revealed very few visitors trickling through.
There were no long queues of vehicles and foot travellers as was observed during the days before the Covid-19 pandemic.
There was only a long line of commercial lorries and transportation vehicles waiting to enter Thailand.
Travellers who frequented Thailand before have urged the government there to review its requirements aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19. They say measures can be taken without burdening one’s finances.
A 60-year-old retired businessman from Sg Petani identifying himself only as Farouk said he used to travel to Hatyai twice a month with his family for traditional massages and tom yam. However, it does not make sense to go there anymore as it forces him to spend much more.
“I would rather wait until everything returns to normal to make my trip. I cannot simply spend my hard-earned money without a good reason,” said.
Similarly, two teenage sisters from Butterworth born to a Malaysian-Chinese father and a Thai mother said they initially decided to go to Thailand to visit their mother’s siblings.
However they gave up on the idea as they would both need to spend more than RM2,000 to comply with the entry conditions.
Close-knit ties between border communities at both sides
Ong Hean Ting, 19, a shop assistant, said he was shocked when he heard of the requirement, and decided with his brother to postpone their trip until the situation returns to normal as they feel that spending so much money to comply with the new rules is too much.
“I have called my relatives in Hatyai to tell them of the postponement of our trip. We will wait patiently,” he said.
His elder brother Ong Hean Zheng, 21, said he was disappointed by the requirement.
“The Thai government should have viewed the citizens living near the border with a different angle as there are close-knit family ties living on both sides,” he said.
“They should have made things flexible and lenient on people wanting to visit the family members on both sides of the border,” he said.
A 52-year-old food stall owner identifying himself as Suhaimi said there are less people crossing the border to Thailand since its reopening on April 1.
Met at a mall in Changlun, Kedah, he blamed the Thai’s government’s imposition as unrealistic and said that it should be reviewed
Meanwhile, an elected representative who declined to be named said the checkpoint at Wang Kelian in Perlis is only meant for Thai citizens to enter Malaysia and not for Malaysians to cross over. Besides that, train services across the two countries have yet to resume. – The Vibes, April 9, 2022
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