DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng urged the Government to reopen international borders as soon as possible in the interest of the economy.
“DAP is willing to put aside political differences and support proposals made by the National Recovery Council (NRC) to reopen the country’s borders by March 1 and realign health protocols as what many other foreign countries have done.
“Normalisation of social interaction and resumption of business engagement will help revive the economy and facilitate job opportunities, especially in the tourism sector,” he said, in a statement.
Two days ago, NRC chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin defended his proposal to reopen Malaysian borders, saying it was not a personal call but agreed upon by the council members.
“Please PM (prime minister), it’s a proposal by MPN and not my own. In the meeting, the health minister was there and when asked whether there would be compulsory quarantine, he said no need.
“Asked when can the border be opened, he said it can be opened on March 1,” Bernama reported the former prime minister as saying.
Touching on the matter, Lim opined that COVID-19 was gradually becoming endemic and it was important for all to learn to live with COVID-19.
COVID-19 becoming like a common flu?
With that, he added, there was no reason to delay the reopening of borders when many neighbouring countries are doing so despite the rise in infections.
“Any delay will only harm our economy when the Government has been proven to be ineffective in battling COVID-19.
“We must recognise that it has failed repeatedly to manage COVID-19 with the latest record wave of infections, which fortunately, has low numbers of severe cases from Category 3 and 5, with less than 200 daily cases,” the former finance minister mentioned.
Lim said that while the Government must leave no stone unturned in dealing with COVID-19, the virus should not dictate how the people run their lives and livelihood which is fast becoming endemic like a common flu.
“We must accept, adapt and not fear to live together with COVID-19 as many of our neighbouring countries have done,” the Bagan MP remarked. – Feb 20, 2022.
