The 2-minute video clip was posted by Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, deputy minister for women, family, and community development. She spoke of different ways by which husbands can reprimand their wives, and also urged women to take a softer approach with their husbands.

Among the tips that Siti Zailah suggested were counselling, sleeping separately for three days, prayers, and using a “gentle but firm physical touch” to reprimand their wives.

However, she ran into criticism from Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh and Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar and other netizens.

Nurul Izzah said “this so-called advice” was a disservice to women in going against current realities and needs. “The Covid-19 pandemic has only seen an increase in domestic abuse with a total of 9,015 cases reported, predominantly against women,” she said in a Twitter posting.

Yeoh said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob should ask Siti Zailah to demonstrate how men should use “gentle but firm physical touch” to reprimand their wives.

She said the term “gentle but firm physical touch” was very subjective.

“Ask the doctors, activists, and NGOs who handle domestic violence cases on a daily basis. Is it appropriate for a topic like this to be discussed through a two-minute video?” she wrote on Twitter.