Communications Ministry to set up channel on Emergency, public reminded to verify before sharing info

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — The Communications and Multimedia Ministry will be setting up a dedicated channel to pass on all information regarding the government’s implementation of the Emergency to Malaysians, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali said today.

Zuki said the Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) will collect any views or feedback by Malaysians to provide an actual picture to the government of the current situation on the Emergency.

“KKMM will also act strategically by creating a dedicated channel to ensure all information related to the implementation of the Emergency management can be conveyed to the public holistically and accurately,” he said in a four-page statement, without specifying what platform would be involved for such a dedicated means of sharing Emergency-linked information to Malaysians.

The role of the ministry in channelling information between the federal government and the public was approved by the National Security Council’s special Emergency meeting, following discussions by the government’s Emergency Management technical committee, he said.

The technical committee had so far met four times since it was established, following a nationwide Emergency that was declared to be in effect from January 11 to August 1.

Zuki said the technical committee will continue to study and monitor matters that arise from the Proclamation of Emergency, in order to give the best recommendations to the National Security Council’s special meeting on the Emergency for consideration.

Zuki stressed that the public service’s administration will not be affected during the Emergency period and will continue to function to ensure smooth delivery of government services while complying with standard operating procedures that are in force.

“I also wish to stress to all Malaysians to always ensure all information received have been verified first. This is because the spreading of information that are not verified will affect our efforts in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Zuki had released the press statement this afternoon on updates on how the government is managing the seven-month long Emergency, instead of holding a press conference as scheduled previously, as he is currently under self-quarantine after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 patient.

In the same statement, Zuki had also touched on other matters that had been discussed by the Emergency Management technical committee and agreed by the National Security Council’s special Emergency meeting, including the mobilising of federal and state government resources such as repurposing suitable government buildings nationwide as Covid-19 swab tests centres, and to share under-utilised government assets such as vehicles owned by government departments.

Other matters that were agreed on was the decision to rent suitable places such as National Service training camps to be temporarily repurposed to be temporary detention facilities for prisoners and immigration detainees with minor offences in order to ensure sufficient space for physical distancing, and as this was a more cost-effective measure compared to building new detention centres.

Zuki also spoke about the government’s decision to let private hospitals treat Covid-19 patients who are able to pay for their own medical and treatment costs as part of the integration of public and private hospitals’ capabilities during the Emergency, with the mechanism to be used by insurance companies to cover such treatment by private hospitals currently being fine-tuned.