Commentary: Connecting Singapore and Malaysia without an HSR challenging but alternatives should be explored
Globally, national developments in vaccine certification and multilateral recognition have failed to match the extraordinary achievements of vaccine R&D and manufacturers. The bilateral discussions are relatively advanced, and it is hoped that the flow of people will resume as soon as possible, which will bring great benefits to the interconnection between Malaysia and Singapore.
As Malaysia and Singapore consider bilateral vaccine certification, they must heed global norms—including recent WHO guidelines—that emphasize privacy, fairness, accessibility, and sustainability as key design principles.
After all, requiring proof of vaccination for travel could entrench unfair barriers, promote vaccine nationalism and encourage informal markets, undermining the primary goal of immunizing global herds.
READ: Commentary: How COVID-19 vaccines are being weaponized as countries vie for influence
A more immediate benefit would be if vaccine certification leads to greater integration of the pandemic response, such as collaboration on public health mechanisms, exchange of frontline workers, and support for vaccine rollout.
Singapore and Malaysia are pursuing national vaccine rollouts with vastly different time frames, which poses an immediate challenge to certificate-backed travel.
Singapore, with its small and concentrated population, may be among the first to be fully vaccinated, while Malaysia’s larger, geographically dispersed and conspicuously undocumented population presents greater logistical challenges.
The greatest bilateral gain depends on both countries completing the deployment, so there is a strong mutual incentive to cooperate to accelerate Malaysia’s deployment.
The Johor state government is aware of this and has announced a special vaccination app for Malaysians traveling to and from Singapore, hoping to register this group individually for quick vaccination and freer travel.
READ: Commentary: Johor urbanites hit hard by MCO, but rural communities fare worse
READ: Commentary: Singapore’s ex-Malaysian workers stranded in Johor
priority mobility
Vaccine certification (or even vaccination) is not a panacea, but a mechanism to complement public health measures.
Nuanced measures have been effectively deployed within countries to avoid arbitrary restrictions on movement, but more blunt measures remain on many international borders.
Due to the necessity of the pandemic, cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore on the movement of people is as coordinated as ever. However, arrangements are still far from ideal for the estimated 300,000 Malaysians who commuted to Singapore daily before the coronavirus outbreak.
Employers, employees and families today are forced to accept regular commuting arrangements that require a three-month stay at work destinations. Green lanes for business travelers opened regularly, but closed as virus cases surged in Malaysia.
READ: Commentary: Why the Singapore-Indonesia reciprocal green lane is necessary
