NRC suggests reopening borders on March 1 - Muhyiddin
The National Recovery Council (NRC) has suggested that Malaysia's borders be fully opened to all countries as early as March 1, without requiring travellers to undergo compulsory quarantine.
NRC chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin announced this at a press conference after chairing the council's meeting earlier today...
The National Recovery Council (NRC) has suggested that Malaysia's borders be fully opened to all countries as early as March 1, without requiring travellers to undergo compulsory quarantine.
NRC chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin announced this at a press conference after chairing the council's meeting earlier today.
He, however, said travellers who enter Malaysia need to conduct a Covid-19 test before departure and when arriving in the country.
"The council has proposed that the borders be opened in the near future for economic recovery. We agree the country's borders be fully opened as early as March 1 without the need for mandatory quarantine," he said.
He said the council had considered the proposal brought by Immigration Department director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud's proposal for the country's borders to be opened.
"A Covid-19 test must be conducted before departure and upon arrival at the country's borders according to recommendations from the Health Ministry. However, the opening of the national borders needs to be implemented in a planned manner and based on current risk evaluation," Muhyiddin said.
Opening Malaysia's borders to all countries, he said, was decided as it is difficult to ban only certain countries since the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus has been detected throughout the world.
Economic recovery
The former prime minister said this was an important decision by the NRC, which could expedite the economic recovery process.
"International visitors and investors will arrive in Malaysia. The tourism industry and aviation industry will be revived, and businesses that depend on tourism will (see their revenue) increase.
"From the briefing given by the health minister (Khairy Jamaluddin) just now, our public health system is still able to cope and manage. We have plenty of experience... hospital beds, ICUs, and doctors.
"Until now... we can continue to accommodate the increasing number (of patients). That's why, (we) arrived at a decision today," he said.
It is understood that the NRC proposal will require cabinet approval.
Last October, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said it was possible to reopen international borders in December 2021 once the country’s adult vaccination rate hits 90 percent.
The NRC previously proposed that the country’s borders be opened to international visitors by Jan 1.
Currently, the country's borders remain largely closed, particularly to international tourists.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin also announced that former Telekom Malaysia Bhd chairperson Sulaiman Mahbob was appointed chief executive officer of the NRC secretariat from Feb 1.
The 73-year-old headed the boards of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), and sat on the boards of Petronas and the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda).
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