QuickCheck: Did a government department tell its employees to go on leave due to a bomb scare?

A viral message circulated on social media claims that the Minerals and Geoscience Department Malaysia told its employees to go on leave as certain areas would be bombed. Is this claim true?

VERDICT:

FALSE

The Department issued a statement denying the claim, saying that it is untrue.

"We have never issued any orders for leave or clearance for such a reason," said the Department.

"The Department only issued a memo to those who are unable to be in the office due to an emergency in line with Service Circular 1 1986 to all department staff who are affected by the recent floods," it added in a Facebook post on Thursday (Dec 23).

The Department then said that anyone who spreads false information can be prosecuted under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.