Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) has been enforced twice, on 18 March 2020 and 13 January 2021 since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, both through speeches delivered on live telecast by its Prime Minister. While the speeches were aimed at informing the people of the order, it is anticipated that they contain interdiscursivity, that is a combination of discourse genres and styles, which carries out multiple functions in delivering messages pertaining to the order, based on political hegemony, ideology and culture. Prior to the announcement, the public is rife with questions and perceptions of what the MCO may involve. The speeches conveyed the Prime Minister’s and the government’s intentions such as delivering information, providing instruction, calming the people, and the like. Content analysis was conducted on two MCO speeches using qualitative approaches. The study is aimed at identifying functions and types of discourse, as well as deciphering techniques used to achieve the functions, using Idris Aman’s (2006) discourse functions analysis framework. The study proposes interdiscursivity elements in the MCO texts, realised through five main functions of informing, providing understanding, presenting/defending opinions, expressing (one’s views) and issuing orders. The study also found the use of three techniques additional to the existing framework, that of empathy, advice and appreciation. The study indicates that interdiscursivity is used in a text that contains a main objective for multiple purposes, which are determined by audience, environmental and situational factors. The presence of interdiscursivity also reflects the speaker’s communication strategy, balancing between exhibiting sensitivity to public concerns and issuing the order.
