Malaysia extends entry ban on citizens of Bangladesh, 11 other countries

Malaysia government will impose an entry ban from September 7 onwards on the citizens of 12 countries, including Bangladesh, which are recording more than 150,000 cases of Covid-19, Malaysia's Security Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob reportedly said today.

The senior minister said among the countries in the list were the United States, Brazil, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Bangladesh, as well as those previously announced -- India, Indonesia and the Philippines, reports The Star, citing Malaysia's national news agency Bernama.

"We will add more countries deemed high-risk, which have more than 150,000 positive cases, into the list. Their citizens will be barred [from entering Malaysia]," he said.

"However, for emergency cases or involving bilateral relations, such as if a person needs to come for a meeting between countries, we will allow entry. But it requires permission from the Immigration Department," he told reporters after chairing the Special Committee Meeting on the Embracing New Norms Campaign.

He added that the country's health ministry would be announcing later the details on countries which have recorded more than 150,000 positive cases of Covid-19.

Last Tuesday, Ismail Sabri announced an entry ban on long-term pass holders from India, Indonesia and the Philippines beginning September 7 due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in those countries, says The Star report.

The ban involves six categories of pass holders, namely those with permanent resident status (PR), Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H) participants, expatriates including professional visit pass (PVP) holders and resident pass holders.

The authorities also barred entry to spouses of Malaysian citizens and their children as well as students from the three countries who wanted to return to Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri also said the government has no problem to allow Malaysians from high-risk countries to return home but they will be subjected to the 14-day mandatory quarantine as stipulated in the standard operating procedures (SOP).

On the Embracing New Norms Campaign, he said it would be carried out until December 31 to ensure that people continue to adhere to the SOP in order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.