Malaysian govt agency warns against false 'gadget grant' offers

Published on April 9, 2025 at 09:32
2 min read
By Najmi Mamat, AFP Malaysia

The Malaysian government has warned its citizens against "malicious" social media posts advertising a bogus grant for small businesses to buy electronics. The false posts link to WhatsApp chatrooms, where people are asked for personal details including addresses, national identity numbers and bank statements.

"MSME Digital Grant 2025 -- Get a free cellphone/tablet for micro, small or medium enterprises," reads the Malay-language Facebook post on March 17, shared alongside an image of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim beside a logo for his "Malaysia Madani" (Civil Malaysia) policy framework (archived link).

The post goes on to claim the grant was a collaboration between several government agencies, including the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the government-owned Bank Simpanan Nasional and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

It adds that the "limited grant" is offered to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and urges interested parties to apply at a link that directs users to a WhatsApp chat room.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on April 7, 2025

Another version of the claim shared earlier on January 10 featured an image with several different brands of mobile phones and tablets that could be obtained via the purported grant.

The claim also appeared on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.

AFP reached out to one of the phone numbers listed and was given an order form asking for personal details including the applicant's full name and delivery address. Applicants are also asked to prepare a copy of their national identity card and bank statement.

MDEC has labelled the posts "fake news" and called them "malicious".

'Entirely false'

Keyword searches on Google led to a Facebook post by MDEC on March 28 reading: "Fake News Alert! MDEC strongly denies false claims about a so-called MADANI digital grant for MSMEs" (archived link).

"This news is entirely false and malicious and neither the government nor MDEC has anything to do with this grant," the statement further reads.

Screenshot of the message posted on the verified MDEC Facebook page

"There are no free smartphones or laptops," an MDEC spokesperson told AFP on April 4.

The spokesperson directed the public to grants published on its official website instead, such as one inviting companies to become "Digitalisation Partners" and provides small and medium enterprises with a 5,000 ringgit grant (archived link).

Applications for this grant closed on March 31, 2025, according to the official website.

AFP has previously debunked similar posts impersonating government agencies to offer loans and free driving licences.

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