PETALING JAYA: The transmission level in the community, the capacity of the public healthcare system and the vaccination rate of the population should be Malaysia’s guiding principles before entering into another phase of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), a four-phase exit strategy from the Covid-19 crisis, and not based on any timeframe, say economists.

       Even if these threshold indicators are met and fully operational, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be part of the norms in Malaysian society, at least for now, they opined.

       Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid (pic) said everyone should play their role to adhere to the SOPs while at the same time, getting vaccinated to further speed up the process of economic recovery.

       “I believe we would be able to return to our normal daily routines but as of now, we should hold on to this guiding principle in order to switch to another level, ” he told Bernama.

       Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had on June 15 announced the four-phased NRP with three specific threshold indicators that will decide if and when Covid-19 pandemic restrictions are lifted in stages.

       The threshold indicators are the Covid-19 transmission level in the community, the public healthcare system’s capacity and the vaccination rate of the population. ― Bernama