PASIR MAS, May 6 (Bernama) — The reopening of the three Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complexes on the Malaysia-Thai border in the state, has provided much-needed relief to average traders in the Rantau Panjang Duty-Free Zone, here.
After almost two years of being reduced to a ghost town due to the COVID-19 pandemic, without the presence of regular customers, now these traders can welcome visitors, especially from the neighbouring country, Thailand.
Clothes trader Siti Noraima Mohd Noor, 45, said she could not wait to meet her customers from Thailand as she had not seen them for a long time since the border gates between the two countries were closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“One of the things I miss the most is meeting my friends from Thailand again. Despite the special conditions for entering and leaving the two countries, I hope they can stop by at my shop again to buy the clothes they like,” she said when met by Bernama, here today.
Siti Noraima who has been doing business here for 10 years said after the government announced the transition to the endemic phase on April 1, people started coming to shop in the area.
Meanwhile, snack seller Mariam Abdullah, 40, said the government’s decision to reopen the borders was welcomed as it helped traders restore business, besides allowing family members and friends from neighbouring countries who had not seen each other for more than two years to finally meet up.
“There are traders here who have family ties with those in Thailand, hence, the reopening of the borders will help reunite family members who have been separated for almost two years.
“Even before this, some of us often helped each other to increase sales because we did not want to depend on the local community alone,” she said.
Yesterday, Bernama reported that the three ICQS complexes in Kelantan, namely Rantau Panjang, Bukit Bunga and Pengkalan Kubor, were reopened for commercial and social visit purposes with individuals wishing to enter Thailand and Malaysia having to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the two countries.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency