THE cabinet has yet to discuss a National Recovery Council proposal to reopen the country’s borders by March 1, said Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The prime minister said the cabinet has also yet to receive any feedback for evaluation from the Health Ministry regarding the proposal.

“We must find a balance between wanting to protect the tourism industry and people’s health.

“So the Health Ministry will look into it (the proposal) in detail and propose the next steps to the cabinet.

“As of today, our borders remain closed… no discussion to reopen them yet.”

National Recovery Council chairman Muhyiddin Yassin on Tuesday said the council recommends a full reopening of international borders by as early as March 1.

Ismail Sabri said the government is aware of the issues faced by the tourism industry, but does not want foreign tourist arrivals to cause a surge in Covid-19 cases.

“I have friends (from my time serving as a minister) in the Tourism Ministry… friends who say they cannot survive, tour drivers who depend on income gained from ferrying travellers.

“That is why we will eventually reopen the borders, but to do that, we have to get the Health Ministry’s advice.

“If inbound travellers are infected, it will only accelerate the climb in Covid-19 cases and endanger our people’s health.”

So far, the government has reopened only the Malaysia-Singapore border in Johor for fully vaccinated travellers, he added. – Bernama, February 11, 2022.