Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/16/nation/18604574&sec=nation
Thursday August 16, 2007
FTC will do for travel from Sarawak to Brunei by years end
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Holders of Frequent Travellers Card (FTC) will not need passports to travel the entire stretch of the 2,000km-long Pan Borneo Highway from Sarawak through Brunei to Sabah by the end of this year, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad.
Malaysia and Brunei will seal a deal on Sept 10 to officially recognise the FTC as valid document to cross each others country.
The FTC can only be used at the Miri to Kuala Belait (southern Brunei) checkpoint for the time being. After the official launching on Sept 10, we will extend the usage of the FTC to four other immigration points between Sarawak and Brunei and Sabah. We hope to get this done before next year.
Hopefully, before the end of this year, frequent travellers will be able to go from Sarawak all the way to Sabah via Brunei using the FTC instead of the passport. They will not have to get their passports stamped any more, he said.
Radzi was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 11th annual consultative meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on Tuesday.
Malaysians and Bruneians who cross the border at least three times a month are eligible to register their identity cards as FTC at their respective immigration department after Sept 10.
A special machine installed at the immigration checkpoints on both sides of the Malaysia-Brunei boundaries will be able to read information on the identity cards.
