COVID-19: Free face masks for the people - PM

The government has decided to provide face masks for free to all Malaysians, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

However, he said, the import of face masks was still necessary for as long as local production failed to meet domestic requirement.

“While supply (by local manufacturers) has not reached a satisfactory level, we have decided to import 10 million pieces from China, which should be worked out immediately.

“Yesterday I have instructed the NADMA (National Disaster Management Agency) to utilise government allocation for the purchase. I was told it costs RM1.18 per piece.

"I want to announce we will distribute it for free to all Malaysians in need, it is the government’s contribution," he said at a special press conference after chairing the Economic Action Council (EAC) meeting at the Perdana Putra Building here today.

On the ceiling price of the masks, Muhyiddin said he had instructed Senior Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Senior Minister of Infrastructure Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, along with Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) Datuk Alexander Nanta, to talk to the manufacturers.

The prime minister said the controlled price of face masks should be scrutinized so that it would not be too high, more so the country was in a state of crisis.

In addition, Muhyiddin said he hoped that local manufacturers could continue to produce enough face masks to meet demand even if they had some problems obtaining raw materials from abroad.

“We hope that this will be resolved as I have been told we have the capacity to produce two to three million pieces of masks every month.

“If that can be done, I believe the supply is more than enough. After all, the Royal Malaysian Customs has banned the export of face masks to ensure we have sufficient supply,” he added.