Mahathir looks to evacuate 78 Malaysians from Wuhan, while sending masks and food

If permitted by Chinese authorities, Kuala Lumpur will send a plane with gloves and other supplies on board to pick up its citizens

The premier has also warned of government action against Malaysians spreading disinformation about the deadly virus

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Malaysia has banned visitors from the Chinese city of Wuhan and its surrounding Hubei province in a bid to contain the spread of a deadly virus. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:15pm, 29 Jan 2020Updated: 12:46am, 19 Mar 2020

Malaysia is seeking to evacuate 78 of its citizens from Wuhan while delivering masks and other supplies to the Chinese city at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, according to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

“We want to help Wuhan. If we have to send in a flight to bring back our people, if allowed by the Chinese government, we will bring food, gloves, masks as supply is short there,” he told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

Mahathir said the evacuation move was following the lead of Japan, and that the Southeast Asian nation’s foreign affairs ministry would be in touch with Beijing on the matter. Tokyo on Wednesday removed more than 200 of its nationals from Wuhan, which has been under lockdown since January 23 to curb the spread of the virus.

The premier said that while the Malaysians in Wuhan were not displaying any symptoms of the virus, they would be checked once more upon their return and would be quarantined for two weeks if they showed any signs of infection.

The premier also warned Malaysians against spreading disinformation about the deadly virus, saying that the government would act against those “spreading fake news and inciting racism”.

“The government will take action on those spreading fake news to instil fear among Malaysians and incite hatred among the races in Malaysia. Even though we believe in freedom of press, that does not mean the press should agitate people and cause people to be antagonistic towards each other. We will take action against those people,” he said, an exhortation that was echoed by Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at a later press conference.

Speaking to the media after chairing a Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre meeting, Wan Azizah urged Malaysians to not believe or spread fake news, a request that came just a day after a Malaysian man was arrested for spreading disinformation on the virus via Facebook.

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