Health ministry has 2-3 weeks to present proposals, SOPs for border reopening, says PM

The health ministry has been given two to three weeks to present to the Cabinet proposals and SOPs for the reopening of the country’s borders.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said a decision on whether to open the borders must be made carefully as the government has been receiving a lot of feedback on the matter, including public views for more intervention on behalf of the government, especially with regards to SOPs and the like, due to concerns over Covid-19 transmission.

“Given a choice, we would like to open up the economy, especially since tourism income is huge, which would help the nation.

“But at the same time, we need to protect the people… so a balance is what is being sought by the health ministry.

“We have given the health ministry two to three weeks, and they have to present (their proposals) for the Cabinet to decide… whether to fully reopen the borders or with restrictions (involving) selected countries,” he told reporters after attending an event in Iskandar Puteri today.

He was responding to National Recovery Council (MPN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement yesterday on the importance of reopening the country’s borders on March 1.

On Feb 8, Muhyiddin announced that MPN had agreed to proposals for Malaysia to fully reopen its borders, as early as March 1, without the need for mandatory quarantine.

The former prime minister however said this must be implemented with careful planning and based on current risk assessments.