The senior minister had been asked to comment on public confusion surrounding the operation of essential service sectors during the June 1 to 14 lockdown, but he deflected the matter to Miti.

“It’s difficult for me to answer, because we have handed the matter over to Miti. So, Miti will answer,” he said at a virtual press conference today.

This comes after a Bernama report that 128,150 companies with some 1.57 million employees had been approved to remain operational during the two-week lockdown.

According to Azmin Ali, who is minister of international trade and industry, a total of 586,308 companies involving 10.2 million workers have also registered under Miti’s Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) 3.0 as at 7.30am today.

Azmin also clarified that the chemical and electrical and electronics sectors were listed as essential services as they were “closely linked to ensuring that the people’s safety and health are protected”.