PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry will scrutinise any proposal to relax face mask-wearing regulations in Malaysia.
National Recovery Council (NRC) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that during the council's meeting today, he raised the matter of the face mask regulation, which is still being maintained nationwide since the Covid-19 outbreak.
He said the matter was brought up in the presence of Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali.
"During the meeting, I asked, 'if the situation is better now, why do we still need to wear face masks?'
"Dr Noor Azmi said the ministry will look into the matter in more detail," he told a press conference after chairing the meeting.
Muhyiddin said even though Singapore no longer required its citizens to wear a mask except on public transport and in healthcare facilities beginning today, it did not necessarily mean that Malaysia needed to follow suit.
"At present, wearing a mask has become a habit among our citizens and foreigners.
"Since it has become a habit, maybe the Health Ministry should no longer make it compulsory. But the people can continue to mask on if they feel safer that way.
"(But) that's just NRC's view, and we leave the matter for the Health Ministry to consider."
Muhyiddin said during the meeting, the Health Ministry presented the latest update of the Covid-19 situation in the country.
He also congratulated the ministry for all the efforts taken since Covid-19 hit the country.