Malaysia probes dozens more than COVID-19 misinformation
22 February, 2020
Malaysia is investigating 27 persons for allegedly spreading misinformation about the deadly new coronavirus, officials said Fri (Feb 21), seeing as governments across Asia crack straight down on false claims about the epidemic.
The virus has so far killed a lot more than 2,200 people and infected over 75,000, typically in China, and spread to dozens of countries and territories including Malaysia, which has 22 confirmed cases.
It has triggered a great explosion of false facts online, from vastly inflated death tolls to vaccine conspiracies and misleading bat soup video tutorials.
Several Asian countries have made arrests above the spread of falsehoods, and Singapore this week ordered Facebook to block an anti-government page in the city-state that it says was peddling misinformation about the pathogen.
To time, Malaysia has already established 22 circumstances, 17 of whom have already been discharged.
Of the 27 persons under investigation in Malaysia, four have been charged in court and another four were likely to be charged Friday, officials from the communications ministry and prime minister's department explained.
No facts were provided about the misinformation they are accused of spreading. Officials warned a broader crackdown was planned.
"If you are identified to be involved in virtually any action (of) spreading lies ... we will follow you and we don't health care who you happen to be," Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, deputy minister in the primary minister's department, told reporters.
Before this month, a Malaysian journalist was charged to make statements that might lead to public alarm over community media posts linked to the virus, including one in which she raised concerns about the arrival of Chinese visitors on a cruise liner.
Officials experience warned that false information regarding the virus could possibly be "inflammatory" in Muslim-majority, multi-ethnic Malaysia, where race and religion are believed sensitive topics.
Some observers have raised worries that overzealous crackdowns could curb civil liberties.
"You will find a thin line between your government taking proactive actions against (misinformation) and the federal government infringing on rights to free speech," Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, a good political analyst from BowerGroupAsia consultancy, said.
A complete of 107 individuals, comprising Malaysians and their non-Malaysian members of the family, were earlier flown house from Wuhan on Feb 4.
Two of them tested great for COVID-19 and also have since recovered.
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