KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today said that the government anticipates that most states will move into Phase 4 or the final phase of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) by October at the earliest.

In a briefing on PPN at the special sitting of Dewan Rakyat today, the premier said the anticipation was based on continuous efforts to implement the recovery process and the immunisation programme that is currently running smoothly.

For that, he said apart from monitoring the situation in each state and taking necessary intervention measures from time to time, the government will also continue carrying out a risk assessment in terms of the readiness of the states to move to the next phases of PPN.

“I would like to explain that the government had decided, during the special meeting of the National Security Council, that states which are already in Phase 2 will not return to Phase 1, and states which have moved into Phase 3 will not go back to Phase 2.

“This is because the PPN approach emphasises the exit strategy and not turning back,” he said.

PPN, which was announced on June 15, underlines four transition phases, with every phase of transition for each state assessed and considered based on three key threshold indicators, namely the average daily cases, bed occupancy of intensive care units (ICUs) and the percentage of the fully vaccinated adult population.

So far, eight states have moved into Phase 2 of PPN, namely Perlis, Perak, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pulau Pinang, Sabah and Sarawak.

Muhyiddin said if there were an increase in the number of cases in those states, the government would tighten movement control based on the locality involved without imposing comprehensive control on the state or district as being implemented now.

“We plan, but surely, Allah is the best of planners,” he said.

Elaborating, the prime minister said the transition from one phase to another involves opening economic and social activities in stages and not following any schedule, but instead based on the state’s achievement in reducing capacity pressure on health systems and increasing the level of the people’s protection through vaccination.

Muhyiddin said the recovery plan undertaken by the government had also being implemented in other countries, including the UK, Australia and Singapore.

“We have looked into, learnt and emulated the best practices of those countries to ensure that PPN could be made an important guide and solid foundation of the national recovery process,” he said.

The premier said PPN was formulated based on five main criteria, namely the need to protect lives and livelihoods; being dynamic and based on science and data; providing an explanation as a guide to detail the planning and emphasise the aspect of transparency; adopting the whole-of-nation approach; and always being monitored to evaluate its effectiveness through effective reporting and communication strategies.

“In short, PPN is a recovery plan focusing on strategies to take the country to exit the threats of the Covid-19 pandemic safely and systematically.

“The phases outlined are focused on alleviating the burden on the public health system capacity, reopening the economic sectors and allowing social activities in the next six months until the end of this year.

“PPN is not static. It is dynamic, comprehensive and can be improved according to current needs and situation,” he added.