KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Police investigations have begun into widely shared pictures of interstate travel application forms that purportedly bore a police officer’s signature and none of the applicants’ details.

In a statement this evening, Shah Alam district deputy police chief Supt Ramsay Anak Embol said the case is being investigated under Section 468 of the Penal Code for forgery, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network facilities.

The police travel forms are required for those needing to cross state lines as the government continues to restrict the movement of people under the nationwide state of Emergency that started in January, as part of health measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.

One of the viralled pre-signed forms showed the signature of one Sergeant Major Mohd Fadzli Ali, said to be an assistant police station chief in Section 6, Shah Alam.

Apart from the signature, the form also showed the stamp of a police station and a caption in Malay: "Tolong kali kedua, xyah beratur panjang-panjang. Ada cable dah, mudah baseo sney kiro”.

This roughly translates to an expression of thanks for assistance in the reduction of red tape in getting the travel form approved without due diligence or proper verification.

Earlier today, Malay daily Kosmo reported a similar pre-signed travel form mimicking the signature of a police officer in Kemaman, Terengganu.

The government has shown no indication that the interstate travel may be lifted even as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan approaches as daily Covid-19 cases inch upwards.

It has become a custom over the years for many Muslim Malaysians to break their fast with families. Some even travel back to their hometowns during the weekends to do so, until the pandemic struck last year.