In one cartoon, a husband is depicted complaining about the lockdown while his wife says their savings have nearly been depleted. In the next illustration, the couple is seen with a plane in the background, seemingly in Langkawi – with the wife saying she was looking forward to going shopping.

Screenshots of the cartoons came with a caption which said: “Focus on needs. Spend on what you can afford. #KeluargaMalaysia #JabatanPenerangan”. The cartoons have allegedly been deleted from the department’s Twitter page.

FMT has reached out to the department for comment.

Among those who blasted the cartoons was Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who asked why the agency had to “make fun of the rakyat”.

“The rakyat want to complain that times are tough, but they can’t. The rakyat want to go on a holiday, and they can’t do that either?” he said on Twitter.

“What is the objective of this? What do you want us to do?”

In response, @hijauville questioned why it was all right for the government to mock the rakyat, claiming that a reversal in roles could very well see members of the public being arrested.

Another user, @Bigbear8816, said the cartoons were “insensitive to the core” and sarcastically quipped that perhaps only ministers can afford luxuries like trips to Langkawi.

Meanwhile, @harithhatta questioned what the department was thinking while posting the cartoons. @Asma33114 said the cartoon made it seem as if Malaysians are not entitled to happiness.

“Wow, you are being ridiculously rude,” said @meyraa94.

“What is there to tease the rakyat?” asked @doublefacet

“Those who can travel only make up a small number. The majority are still anxiously thinking about how to survive.”