Proposal to reopen borders not a personal decision, says Muhyiddin

The proposal by the National Recovery Council (MPN) on reopening the country’s border was not a personal decision, but one mutually agreed to by members of the council, said its chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.

The former prime minister said the matter was discussed at a recent meeting chaired by him.

Muhyiddin said the reopening of the border was important for reviving the country’s economy, especially the business and tourism sectors, and that he hoped Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob would agree to the council’s proposal to reopen the country’s borders by March 1.

“Please PM (prime minister), it’s a proposal by MPN and not my own. In the meeting, the health minister was there and when asked whether there would be compulsory quarantine, he said no need.

“Asked when the border could be opened, he said it can be opened on March 1,” Muhyiddin said in his speech at the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Chinese New Year reception in Pontian last night.

Also present were Gerakan president Dominic Lau and International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, who is also PN information chief.

In early February, the MPN recommended that the government fully open the country’s borders as early as March 1, although the Cabinet has yet to discuss the proposal.