KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — The National Recovery Plan (NRP) is backed by scientific evidence, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told Parliament today.
Although eight states — including Perlis, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak — have transitioned to Phase Two of NRP, a fierce resurgence of the Covid-19 epidemic has seen all states, except Perlis, exceed the case incidence threshold of Phase Two set at a maximum of 12.2 new cases per 100,000 population on a seven-day average.
All states have fully vaccinated more than 10 per cent of their adult populations, while Sarawak and Labuan have exceeded 40 per cent, the target for Phase Three of NRP, at 55.8 per cent and 75.5 per cent respectively as of yesterday.
“NRP will be supported by scientific facts, indicator evaluations and empirical evidence, and not just mere assumptions,” Muhyiddin said in a special Dewan Rakyat meeting today.
The success of NRP depends on a nationwide approach and close cooperation between the federal government, state governments, political parties, local authorities, the private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the people, he added.
“All have to play a role in the effort to restore the country.”
Muhyiddin stated that the phases outlined in the NRP are focused on efforts to ease the burden on the capacity of the public health system, reopen the economic sector, and allow social activity within the six-month period until the end of the year.
“NRP is not static but dynamic, comprehensive and can be improved according to current needs and situations.”
Muhyiddin today revealed the five key aspects of the NRC as below:
- Balancing the need to protect lives by ensuring the safety of life, economic well-being and survival of the people.
- Dynamic and continuous adaptation, a plan that is constantly updated, relevant and based on science and data in the face of uncertain situations to ensure the country’s preparedness during the transition period.
- Provide explanations and explanations as a guide to detail the planning, as well as emphasise the aspect of transparency on each item in rebuilding trust.
- Adopting a whole-of-nation approach, which is a plan that involves the role of all levels of society.
- Monitoring and ensuring the effectiveness of performance, which is a plan that evaluates the effectiveness of implementation through effective reporting and communication strategies.
The five main objectives of the NRP are to:
- Protect the public health sector by managing the spread of the epidemic, reducing hospital admissions and lowering mortality rates.
- Ensure a sustainable health care system.
- Carry out vaccination as soon as possible to protect the people.
- Reopen the economy and allow social activities in stages with strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Be responsive and flexible in adapting to evolution of the environment.
When launching the NRP, Muhyiddin had mentioned that three indicators — daily number of Covid-19 cases, ICU occupancy rate, vaccination rate — will be taken into account to shift from one phase to the next.
Muhyiddin also noted that in August, the Finance Ministry will come up with a pre-Budget statement, including a people’s consultation document on the focus of the policy to increase the transparency of the process, as well as the involvement of the people in the preparation of the federal government’s annual Budget for next year.
He also added that the Budget 2022 would be tabled on October 29, noting that the continuity of NRP and economic recovery measures would be included comprehensively in the 12th Malaysia Plan as well.
Today, the Ministry of Health reported 14,516 new Covid-19 cases nationwide, after a record high 17,045 infections yesterday.
