Here's What Khairy Has To Say About The Full Reopening Of Malaysia's Borders
The decision to open up the country's borders is not under the Ministry of Health, he said.
By Sadho Ram — 20 Feb 2022, 11:11 AM
As the National Recovery Council (NRC) continues to push the government to fully reopen Malaysia's borders as early as 1 March, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said that the beginning of the second quarter of this year would be a more realistic timeline for it
According to Khairy, while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has given the Ministry of Health (MOH) two weeks to prepare guidelines for the reopening of the border, this does not mean that the country's borders will be reopened in two weeks as the matter needs to be discussed at several levels.
He said that the guidelines will first need to be presented to the COVID-19 Pandemic Management Committee, as well as the COVID-19 Quartet Ministers before being brought to the Cabinet.
"The reason is that big decisions cannot be made at the MOH level, this involves big national policies," he told reporters after visiting Klinik Kurnia, which offers B40 Health Care Scheme (PeKa B40) services.
I expect early in the second quarter of the year as a realistic target, but let the Prime Minister decide on this.
He shared that MOH will come up with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the border reopening before a decision is taken
The second quarter covers the months of April to June.
According to Khairy, MOH will need about two weeks to prepare the SOPs for the border reopening and the borders will not necessarily be reopened immediately after the proposed SOPs are completed.
Khairy's remarks come after NRC chairperson Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin once again pushed 1 March for the border reopening
A Bernama report quoted the former prime minister as saying that even the Health Minister has agreed to the proposal on reopening Malaysia's borders by 1 March to revive the country's economy.
"Please PM, it's a proposal by NRC and not my own. In the meeting, the Health Minister was there and when asked whether there would be a compulsory quarantine, he said no need. Asked when can the border be opened, he said it can be opened on 1 March," the national news agency quoted him as saying.
