PM has prerogative to make any policy changes at any forum he deems appropriate

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has the prerogative to announce policy changes at any forum that he deems appropriate, says Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Special Functions) Datuk Mastura Mohd Yazid.

Speaking in response to a question raised by Lim Guan Eng (PH – Bagan) in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 22), Mastura added that the prime minister has made announcements on many issues in the past at various press conferences, including the country’s transition to the endemic phase of Covid-19.

She said that the transition to the endemic phase is very important as an exit strategy.

“Any complications or problems that arise have been looked at and studied so that the standard operating procedure (SOP) that is issued will not inconvenience travellers who enter the country as well as Malaysians who also travel.

Mastura added that the ten SOP and nine guidelines will be scrutinised further with this in mind.

She said this in reply to Lim's question asking whether the National Recovery Council (NRC) was still relevant as it had proposed a reopening of the country’s borders on March 1, but instead was now scheduled to be reopened on April 1.

Lim said if the proposals by the NRC were not taken into consideration then it might as well be dissolved.

He also questioned whether the NRC was still functional as during the Umno general assembly, an announcement to the changes of policies related to the nation’s economy by the prime minister was announced at a political party conference.

Mastura explained that the prime minister has the prerogative to announce any issues, at any forum he deems appropriate.

Mastura added that the high vaccination rate, and also the less severe Omicron variant were among the factors that helped the government decide to transition to the endemic phase on April 1 with the loosening of certain restrictions.