KUALA LUMPUR – The Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) has debunked an announcement made by a fake Twitter account of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).
The misleading announcement stated that the UEC’s recognition is under ministry-level discussions and is set to be approved by the unity government in accordance with Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) manifesto.
In a Facebook post, PMD discredited the announcement and included a list of Anwar’s verified social media accounts.
“The Prime Minister’s Department would like to refer to the posting that is going viral on social media, especially on Twitter, with the caption ‘The recognition of UEC will be discussed on a ministry level, and this proposal will be approved by the unity government, in accordance with the PH manifesto’,” quoted the PMD in a Facebook post.
“The information from the social media account is fake,” the statement added.
The post also included a comparison of the prime minister’s username with its impersonator.
While Anwar’s official account goes by @anwaribrahim, the fraudulent account that posted the misleading information is @anwarinrahim, with a mere single-letter difference.
The PMD concluded its statement by urging netizens to refrain from spreading false information, especially when unsure of its legitimacy.
Currently, the Twitter announcement has been removed and the imposter account has been deactivated.
The UEC is a certificate that is offered through Malaysian independent Chinese secondary schools. Currently, the certificate is not recognised in Malaysian public universities.
The debate on UEC’s recognition had incited outrage from Malay rights groups who claimed that its recognition is equivalent to betraying the education system and the country’s harmony. – The Vibes, December 7, 2022
