Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said: “We will not tolerate any risk factors and will ensure the safety of every Malaysian as stringent checks and monitoring will be present at every entry point to the country to prevent any COVID-19 infections.”
Anwar said this today amid rising concerns over the expected increase in tourist arrivals from China where cases are surging.
Speaking at a press conference soon after a cabinet meeting convened today (Jan 4) in Putrajaya, Anwar said discussion were held with the Health and other Ministers on stepping up the SOPs to prevent the spread of Covid and it was unanimously concluded that the health of every Malaysians takes utmost priority against tourism activities and that of other sectors which are seen as secondary on this context.
“All immigration check points will increase stringent controls on all tourist arrivals, not only those from China or the US,” he said, adding that tourist arrivals from China amounted to 300,036 arrivals in 2022 while, December (2022) saw 53,000 arrivals, as a gauge of how severe any negligence can lead to.
Anwar also urged all Malaysians to take the Booster Vaccines as a safeguard against COVID. The take up rate for the booster has been recorded at 49% or about 6 million Malaysians, and every precaution should be taken to prevent the numbers or cases increasing and call on the people to be vigilante.
Anwar maintained that Putrajaya was not discriminating against any particular nation, reiterating that tighter border measures would not only be for travellers from China.
“We are acting to save our people,” he said. “We will not choose (which countries to impose additional restrictions) because we know travellers (with Covid-19) can come from anywhere.
“We don’t want to be hasty.”
He said the government will continue to monitor the developments relating to Covid-19. Additionally, those who have been to China within the last 14 days of their arrival in the country will need to undergo the RTK-Ag test (rapid antigen test).
Anwar, on a separate matter, said Sabah and Sarawak will have the authority to approve any development project worth RM50 million and lower.
The Prime Minister said such projects would not need to go through the federal government and could be decided solely by the state governments.
He explained that these were examples of issues which have been in delay or have been overlooked in the past. The Government is reviewing all such cases to ensure that there are development on various matters.
On issues which have been delayed, Anwar cited that under Allocation 112D of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), a special allocation of RM16 million needed to be reviewed to RM25 million for Sabah and Sarawak, as an instance, every 5 years but this has been overlooked by the previous administration.
The government is presently reviewing this allocation and will revive the pay-out which will be finalised with the relevant state Premiers soon. “The working committee chaired by (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Datuk Seri) Fadillah (Yusof) will look into the allocation for Sabah and Sarawak based on Article 112D of the agreement, which stipulates that reasonable provision should be given to Sabah and Sarawak.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) was forced to inject RM153 million in the form of a loan to rescue the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) project undertaken before by a Tabung Haji – Destini Sdn Bhd joint venture after discovering “big issues”, according to Anwar, adding, this would be first OPV project likely to be completed this year under the scrutiny of the MOF.
To a question, Anwar stressed that unity government will not cancel the pensions of former Cabinet members. He explained that no such thing could be done because it was subject to the Federal Constitution.
On the retabling of Budget 2023, Anwar explained that the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor and other key government officials will be called to draft the budget together with the Finance Minister (Anwar) as decision would involve general policies.
To a question on the rise of the Overnight Policy Rate, he said that the decisions are made by BNM and not the MOF.
