Ministry urges cops to probe viral messages on Guan Eng

Two police reports have been lodged over viral messages and images purportedly aimed at defaming Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, his press secretary Lufti Hakim said today.

One of the messages claimed that Lim had announced no bonus and 'duit Raya' (Hari Raya bonus) for civil servants, while the other related to the status of medical graduates from Egyptian universities.

In a statement today, Lufti said the two reports were lodged at the Dang Wangi police headquarter on March 28.

"The minister has never uttered such remarks as shown (in the social media messages)," he said in a statement today.

"These messages were aimed at slandering the minister and to raise public concerns.

"Such allegations are false, baseless and go overboard, because they are an attempt to incite racial sentiment and undermine public confidence in the government."

As Lufti noted, the dissemination of false information is an offence under the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

"(We) wish that the police will probe the source of the images, and for the individuals responsible for creating these fake and malicious messages and images to have action taken against them accordingly," the statement read.