He said the health ministry is finalising the SOPs for the full reopening of the borders since the first lockdown on March 18, 2020.

Muhyiddin said the council had previously proposed that the borders be reopened on March 1. However, he said the Cabinet decided that the SOPs needed to be established before a date for the reopening could be set.

He said the longer the country’s borders were closed, the worse it would be for the economy.

“We should not reopen the borders so late, otherwise the cost to the country, on a daily basis, will be huge,” he said after chairing a meeting of the council today.

Muhyiddin added that MPN’s previous proposal to reopen the borders on March 1 was not rejected by other government agencies, including the health ministry.

He pointed out that Australia was lagging behind Malaysia in its vaccination rate, but it opened its international borders recently.

“We’ve been informed by the health minister and director-general that though there has been a surge in cases, we are capable of managing it.”

He also hoped that the SOPs for tourists would not be too stringent, adding that even testing every day would deter them from visiting Malaysia.

He said MPN wanted the Langkawi travel bubble SOPs to be reviewed, particularly the one requiring foreign tourists to take self-tests daily.

The Bersatu president also said MPN was formulating a National Recovery Plan 2.0 which will be presented to the government. He said this would be prepared within three to six months and would set a timeline for the nation’s full recovery.

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