SIMPANG RENGGAM: The government should expand the present Vaccinated Travel Lane-Land (VTL-Land) to other forms of public transport including rail services between Malaysia and Singapore, says a former state executive councillor.

       Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who was in charge of tourism, youth and sports, said it is important to expand the present VTL-Land, which allows for 2,100 people one way per day via buses.

       “With our international borders opening on April 1, we can work with Singapore on expanding the VTL-Land to at least 10,000 and then to 20,000 each day.

       “This must be done in a safe and periodical manner as we need to plan and coordinate with our neighbour,” he said.

       Before the pandemic, an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people passed through the Johor Causeway and Second Link in their daily commute between Johor and the city-state.

       Onn said the reopening of the country’s borders is just what is needed to rejuvenate Johor’s tourism industry, which has been badly impacted by the border closure since March 2020.

       “However, under Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad, we have done our best to help the tourism industry including providing handouts to tour guides, hotels and theme parks,” he said, adding that Desaru and other parts of the state have started seeing a revival in business.

       Meanwhile, Onn, who is contesting in the Machap state seat after being moved from Layang-Layang, said he is a party man who follows instructions.

       He said the new seat is within the Simpang Renggam parliamentary constituency, where he is vice-chairman of the Umno division.

       The 44-year-old is hoping that his track record of working with the youth in the state through the creation of youth centres and southern volunteer movements will stand him in good stead.

       “In fact, there was a flood here two days ago and about 50 families were affected. We provided aid to them,” he said, adding that he plans to continue working to improve the infrastructure and Internet connectivity, and build more places for youth activities.

       He noted that out of the 33,000 voters in Machap, at least 8,000 are new voters.