PETALING JAYA, March 25 — UK-based general surgeon Dr Nur Amalina Che Bakri has teamed up with a group of Malaysian medical professionals to help keep the public informed about the Covid-19 virus.

With the right facts.

The 32-year-old, who hails from Kota Baru, Kelantan, took to her official Twitter account yesterday to inform Malaysians to follow the newly-formed Malaysian Health Coalition on social media for accurate information pertaining to the virus.

“Please spread this message. Myself, some of my doctor friends and NGOs (local and overseas) have teamed up to form the Malaysian Health Coalition to help convey the correct medical message to the public, especially regarding Covid-19,” said Dr Amalina in the post.

Yesterday, Dr Amalina caught the attention of social media after she put Umno Youth exco member “Papagomo” or Wan Muhammad Azri in his place, after his claims that she was “young” and “doesn’t know” about the current situation in the country.

The post was also shared by all of the other 36 members of the coalition, as they aim to reach as many of their fellow countrymen as possible.

The Malaysian Health Coalition was established just four days ago by Interdisciplinary Health Systems, Health Policies and Global Health practitioner Dr Khor Swee Kheng with reputable doctors like Datuk Dr Amar-Singh HSS and Mercy Malaysia founder Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood joining forces to hopefully help the public curb the spread of the virus — and fake news about it as well.

In the poster uploaded onto social media, the coalition has called on all Malaysians to strictly adhere to the rules set in place during the period of the Movement Control Order (MCO), in order to flatten the curve of infection.

“To our fellow Malaysians, the movement restrictions are necessary and will save lives — but they are not magic,” said the poster.

“We won’t see immediate results. This outbreak is likely to worsen before it gets better, and we must still be vigilant with social distancing. Your support will save lives and help us care for you.

“We can succeed only if all Malaysians join the national effort, protect each other and trust the science.”

Members of the coalition will be sharing informative posters like these onto their social media pages. — Picture via Twitter/@DrAmalinaBakri
Members of the coalition will be sharing informative posters like these onto their social media pages. — Picture via Twitter/@DrAmalinaBakri

The coalition also consists of other knowledgeable members from organisations such as the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM), Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and Malaysian Nurses Association.

Its social media pages will be regularly uploading factual infographics onto their social media pages using the respective handles — Facebook (@MyHealthCoalition), Twitter (@malaysianhc) and Instagram (@myhealthcoalition).

The information relayed by the coalition will also be made available in 14 different Malaysian languages and dialects so that everyone can correctly understand what is being conveyed.

Social media users have praised the doctors for banding together during this difficult period as Dr Amalina’s tweet has since garnered over 20,000 likes and 27,000 shares.

“Good job! With this, we can fight against the spread of fake news. Hopefully, people will use this to fact-check before believing everything they read,” wrote one user.

For more information about the Malaysian Health Coalition, surf over to https://myhealthcoalition.org/