Every time he receives a message from Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and Health Minister Dr Adham Baba about the latest Covid-19 numbers, Ismail Sabri Yaakob can’t help but feel nervous, especially when it involves a spike in new cases and fatalities.

The senior minister in charge of security who has been appearing on television to update the people on Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) since the implementation of the first movement control order (MCO) on March 18 last year, takes the job of helping to flatten the Covid-19 curve very seriously.

“It has been a nerve-wracking experience for me. Just imagine...