A recent social media blunder by a government agency under the Prime Minister’s Department has sparked controversy online. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) inadvertently confused Chinese New Year (CNY) with the Mid-Autumn Festival in a Facebook post.

DOSM, known for tracking average prices of goods in Malaysia, regularly shares updates, especially during festive seasons. However, a recent CNY-themed post discussing the prices of ingredients for popular delicacies included mooncakes, traditionally associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The post suggested that mooncakes are consumed during CNY, prompting criticism from Malaysians who highlighted the error. Mooncakes are traditionally enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the mooncake festival.

Despite backlash and ridicule in the comments, DOSM deleted the post. However, a screenshot shared on Reddit captured the blunder.

The misinformation stemmed from the National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN), as indicated in DOSM's post. JKKN's webpage referred to mooncakes as being available during both the Mid-Autumn Festival and CNY.

This incident underscores the importance of accurate information dissemination. Hopefully, JKKN will update its webpage, and DOSM will exercise greater caution in future communications.