KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 ― The Health Ministry is in its final stages of finalising the SOPs for the reopening of Malaysia’s international borders, said National Recovery Council (NRC) Chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He then said that the NRC will be announcing the date for the reopening of the country’s borders soon.

"The Council noted that the Ministry of Health is in the final process of finalising the SOP for the opening of national borders for the approval of Cabinet.

"An announcement on the opening of the border will be made in due course,” he said during a press conference after chairing the NRC meeting in Putrajaya.

He said this after Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin presented to the NRC that the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme and the subsequent booster shots serve as sufficient bulwark against the disease.

Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Health Ministry has been given two to three weeks to present its proposal to the Cabinet for a decision to be made on whether to fully reopen Malaysia’s borders or to reopen with restrictions involving selected countries.

On February 8, Muhyiddin proposed for Malaysia’s borders be fully opened as early as March 1 without requiring mandatory quarantine but with Covid-19 testing pre-departure and upon arrival in Malaysia still required.

Later, Khairy reportedly said Malaysia could realistically fully reopen its borders in the second quarter of this year, but the actual reopening date would be announced by the prime minister.

He was also quoted saying the Health Ministry would need about two weeks to prepare the SOPs for the border reopening and that the borders would not necessarily be reopened immediately after the proposed SOPs are completed.