Ismail Sabri has been making statements on behalf of other ministries

Malaysia has now entered its third phase of the Movement Control Order (MCO). It has been a month since the order was enacted, starting from March 18.

Tighter security and stricter punishment would be enforced on the ones who do not abide the order.

In the meantime, the government also started to distribute the Prihatin Rakyat economic stimulus package stimulus package to cope with the MCO.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) has allowed more sectors to operate. This is done to improve economic activities in the country and ensure the well-being of the people.

According to media intelligence, Health Director-General Datuk Seri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah was the most active figure to address the pandemic from April 1 to 16.

He had made about 8.7 thousand statements in the media; primarily updating on the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the second spot, it was Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yakoob with 4.6 thousand statements. He was seen to be making more statements than the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Finance Minister, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, who have been busy with the Prihatin Rakyat initiative.

This is because the Defence Minister is in charge of executing the MCO. Similar to Noor Hisham, Ismail Sabri also provides daily updates on the order, such as coming out with new guidelines and the number of offenders detained.

Additionally, Ismail Sabri has become the representative for most of the ministries in Malaysia. He was seen to be making announcement on behalf of other ministries besides his own.

For example, he assured the public that KPDNHEP would be continuously monitoring the food supplies in the country throughout the MCO.

The Defence Minister also announced that the Transport Ministry approves flights from the Peninsular to Sabah and Sarawak.

Consequently, the media presence of other ministers has been declining.