Malaysian police have launched an investigation into Al Jazeera over a documentary on the racism that migrant workers in the country purportedly face, The Malay Mail reported.
The investigation was launched on the grounds that the documentary was an attempt to tarnish the international reputation of Malaysia, Arab News further reported.
The Star reported that notices of summons have since been issued to the "journalist, editor cameraman and producer" of the documentary.
In addition, the immigration department has stated that it is looking for one of the documentary's interviewees, a Bangladeshi national, The New Straits Times reported.
Malaysian authorities accuse Al Jazeera of lying
Malaysia's Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yakob stated that the Qatar-based media owed Malaysia an apology for its documentary, and accused the media outlet of lying by stating that the children of illegal immigrants were subjected to cruel treatment, according to The Edge Markets.
The Star quoted Ismail saying:
"As international media, we expect Al Jazeera to have high ethics. But, the report does not seem to contain clear facts and is full of baseless accusations."
What exactly did the documentary show?
The documentary is part of the 101 East programme by Al Jazeera, which touches on a variety of issues across the Asia-Pacific region.
Titled, "Locked up in Malaysia's Lockdown", the video examined the effects of Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO) restrictions on the country's migrant workers and features several of them speaking at length on the hardships it has imposed.
These include the loss of livelihoods, as well as the Malaysian authorities supposedly rounding up many of the migrant workers for detention, on the basis of testing for Covid-19.
The issues of xenophobia and racism among Malaysians against migrant workers was also discussed.
Malaysians react furiously to video
Suffice to say, the Malaysian government did not appear to be the only party angered by the video.
The documentary also touched off a furious reaction among Malaysians on social media.
A trailer for the documentary on Al Jazeera's 101 East Facebook page garnered over 62,500 angry reactions and multiple angry comments from Malaysian netizens.
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Others voiced their support for the Malaysian government and the actions that they had taken with regard to the Covid-19 situation among migrant workers.
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Source: Screenshot from 101 East - Al Jazeera Facebook
Meanwhile, the video on YouTube has since garnered close to 300,000 dislikes, compared to 4,900 likes.
The comments section of the video has also been disabled.
Malaysian government: Foreigners have been treated "free of charge"
Free Malaysia Today reported that the director-general of immigration, Khairul Dzaimee Daud, has since clarified that the country has taken steps to treat foreigners for Covid-19.
Khairul highlighted that the Malaysian government had provided treatment "free of charge" to 773 foreigners who had tested positive for Covid-19 at immigration depots, and that Malaysia had been praised and thanked by several foreign embassies for doing so.
He also issued a warning, adding that foreign nationals in the country face the immediate revocation of their passes, should they be found to have made inaccurate statements that are aimed at damaging the image of Malaysia.
The health minister, Adham Baba, also dismissed the allegations in the video as baseless and stated that the MCO's measures were aimed at saving everyone in the country, regardless of nationality.
Top image screenshot from Al Jazeera English YouTube