The decision to postpone the reopening of Malaysia's international borders from March 1 to April 1 was made out of fear that the Johor election could have caused a spike in new Covid-19 cases, said Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali.

In answering a question from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar), the Bersatu minister also slammed "certain quarters" that wanted to have an election when the country was still struggling with a pandemic.