Agree to uniform protocols before using Asean health passports – Matta

KOTA KINABALU: Asean countries must agree to adopt uniform health and safety protocols before introducing the health passports said Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang.

"The key concern is getting all Asean governments to accept the same certification, procedures, conditions and protocols for entry, and also the airlines carrying those travellers to approve the same certification to allow them to fly," said Tan in a statement yesterday.

The health passports suggestion is also a good solution to replace mandatory quarantine and spur cross-border travel within the region, he said.

Tan was commenting on the proposal by Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association president Uzaidi Udanis for health authorities in the country to introduce a Covid-19 health passport when Malaysia's tourism industry reopens post-pandemic.

He suggested that the health passport could model the Yellow Card (Carta Jaune) issued by WHO to certify that a person had been vaccinated against infectious diseases, such as cholera, yellow fever and rubella.

According to Tan, the outlook for the tourism sector remains highly uncertain with the evolution of the pandemic.

With encouraging news on the vaccine and suggestion on Health passports, he said this may be one of the ways forward to restore international travel.

However there needs to be consensus amongst individual countries (for a start Asean countries) to accept the health passport and adoption of uniformity in health and safety protocols, said Tan.

"The key concern is having all our ASEAN governments accepting the same certification, procedures, conditions and protocols for entry and also the airlines carrying those travellers to accept the same certification to allow them to fly.

"Health passport can be a good solution to replace mandatory quarantine and it will certainly open up cross border travel. It is high time cooperation between Asean countries are enhanced and a regional framework for cross border travel.

"Some 70 per cent arrivals to Malaysia are from Asean countries before Covid-19," he said adding that intra travel amongst Asean countries can be a catalyst to revitalize the badly crippled tourism industry. Asean, he disclosed, has a population base of 622 million.