CLAIM
Amid the coronavirus crisis, a press release allegedly issued by the Prime Minister’s Office is being circulated on various social media platforms.
The document claims:
- Government has ordered restrictive movement from 18 to 31 March.
- The National Security Council had a coordination meeting between government agencies on 17 March 2020 to ensure the smooth implementation of the Order.
- The Order will be effective from 12 midnight, 18 March 2020 The public is required to obey all regulations stipulated by the authorities.
- To implement the Restricted Movement Order, the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 was gazetted on 18 March 2020. PDRM and RELA have been appointed as the authorized persons under Section 3 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act.
- To ensure the effectiveness of the Order, the general public is advised to stay home at all times except to fulfil basic needs.
- If there are any further questions, please contact the National Operations Administration Centre, National Security Council at 03-8888 2010.
These instructions are followed by an attachment listing the functioning of various public sector departments.
The advisory has stirred massive confusion on WhatsApp and Twitter.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The Quint can confirm that the aforementioned advisory has not been released by the PMO and does not pertain to India.
A careful look at the advisory raised certain red flags. The last line of the advisory mentions Malaysian citizens and Indians. There is also a mention of PDRM, an acronym for Royal Malaysia Police and RELA (The People’s Volunteer Corps) another Malaysian government agency.
We also looked up for “Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020” mentioned in the advisory. A google keywords search suggested that the Act was passed by the Malaysian government on 18 March.
To verify that this advisory was indeed issued by the Malaysian government, we checked the official website of the government and found the advisory there.
Finally, state broadcaster Prasar Bharati News Services (PBNS) also took to Twitter to clarify the same.
Evidently, an advisory from the Malaysian government for their citizens is being circulated without context in India which is leading to panic ahead to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s addressed to the nation at 8 pm.
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