KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Twitter is displaying a message urging users to visit the official accounts of the Health Ministry whenever they search for novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on the social network.

Searches with the words coronavirus, nCoV, Wuhan or 2019nCoV will be shown a message in Bahasa Melayu that says users could obtain reliable information about the virus from the Malaysian Health Ministry and its MyHEALTH portal.

The message also includes links to the Health Ministry’s Twitter accounts @KKMPutrajaya and MyHEALTH account @MyHEALTHKKM.

KKMPutrajaya’s pinned tweet is an infographic that shows measures people can take to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is taking stern measures to curb the spread of fake news regarding the virus.

It released a statement that it had detained a 34-year-old man in Bangi yesterday (Jan 28) with the assistance of police for allegedly spreading fake news.

The case is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000 (S$17,000), not more than a year of imprisonment, or both upon conviction.

“Such a stern action is taken to ensure that fake news about the virus is not spread by irresponsible individuals that could disrupt public order,” the regulatory body said.

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