Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks during a press conference in Putrajaya January 29, 2020. ― Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 29 ― The government has not imposed restrictions on foreign visitors to major tourist attractions such as mosques and museums due to the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
In a press conference today, the prime minister said such claims were false.
“At the same time, we found there to be irresponsible articles in Malaysia, purportedly that tourists to Malaysia who are not Muslims cannot go to the mosques because of the fear of them infecting (others). So this is not the government's policy.
“The government never declared that mosques or museums cannot be visited by tourists from China because they may be carrying the disease to the places mentioned.
“This is not government policy, and it is an irresponsible act, and the government will take action against those who deliberately create fake news to scare Malaysians, and to create hatred among races in Malaysia,” Dr Mahathir said.
The prime minister said the government believed in the freedom of the press but said this should not be a licence to “agitate people to be antagonistic towards each other.”
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