KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — The government urges victims of domestic violence or child abuse to call its special hotline that would enable the police to take immediate action when such incidents are reported, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

Ismail Sabri appeared to be acknowledging reports of the rise in abuse cases happening in families amid the movement of control order (MCO) — a period where all Malaysians are told to stay at home to curb the spread of Covid-19.

"We also hear there are complaints about domestic problems and there are also fears of abuse cases during the Covid-19 period or during the movement of control order period,” he said during a press conference broadcast "live” today.

He said that the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry was working together with the police via special hotlines that victims of domestic violence and child abuse could contact.

"Those who need help involving domestic violence and abuse if there are such (cases) are requested to contact Talian Kasih at 15999 or WhatsApp to 019-2615999 and this has links to the police, and the police will take immediate action based on those complaints.

"If there are reports that you wish to report to the police, Malaysians can lodge reports online, such as through WhatsApp directly to the police, and the police can take action immediately based on complaints received,” he added.

This appears to be the first time this topic was mentioned during the daily non-health press conferences during the movement control order period.

In the press conference today, Ismail Sabri did not mention the number of official complaints received regarding domestic violence and child abuse cases, but women groups have previously reported an increase in such cases received via their own hotlines.