KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob suggested today that the government could take further measures to contain the runaway Covid-19 pandemic that was infecting and killing Malaysians at an unprecedented rate.
On Facebook, Ismail Sabri posted a photograph of himself listening to a mobile phone while appearing to peruse some documents, along with the following message.
“I take note of the number of cases that rose sharply today. The step that must be taken in this situation is not the easiest path, but the best one for our joint safety.
“I have brought this suggestion higher; pray there is light for all,” he wrote.
Malaysians, from commoner to royalty, have increasingly pressed the government to enforce a “total lockdown” similar to the movement control order (MCO) at the start of the pandemic in March last year.
The government has so far resisted on the basis that another full blown MCO would cripple the local economy entirely.
Today, Malaysia crossed the psychological threshold of over 1,000 deaths in a month, after another 61 people died.
The country also added another 8,290 Covid-19 cases for an active total of 72,823.
