Who is Ateeqah Mazlan? Did she 'snitch' on home-based businesses?

In a now-defunct video that features conversations with various government agencies, former Muslim actress Ateeqah Mazlan specifically asked if home-based businesses that require third party couriers and delivery service to operate were allowed.

They were not.

Due to the public nature of her queries, and how some enterprises were perhaps unaware of such a rule while courier services were active, she received a huge amount of backlash. Some people even deigned to call her a “snitch.”

What did Ateeqah Mazlan do?

According to her deleted video on Facebook, Ateeqah ascertained that businesses based in owners’ homes that require delivery services to operate must be closed for the duration of the Circuit Breaker.

While her interview with Singaporean authorities touched on various topics about restrictions and rules during the Circuit Breaker, the most relevant part was when she confirmed the required closure of businesses producing physical products that require delivery services to function.

According to the rules set out by government authorities, businesses who do not product physical products and do not require couriers to function may continue to do so as long as their employees work from home.

The rules have been there all along

But the measures that Ateeqah was talking about were present even before Ateeqah asked her questions. An article from Malay paper Berita Harian on April 25 specifically mentioned that home bakers cannot operate–even if the customers would claim the baked goods at their location.

The video had come out on the weekend, but has since been taken down. You can still watch it here.

According to a report by TODAY, Singaporean authorities had then issued a joint statement regarding the Circuit Breaker rules regarding food and beverage, as well as home-based businesses. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources Ministry, the Housing and Development Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, said in a joint media statement saying that home-based business operators must meet certain criteria in order to continue operating during this period or face a S$1,000 fine.

Business owners appeal to gov’t, bash Ateeqah

As a petition gained traction online for the government to reconsider some of the rules of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act of 2020, Ateeqah had to take down her social media accounts–which were flooded with hate and bashing.

Influencer Dee Kosh called her a “snitch.”

For now we definitely do not know the real outcome but this article was issued yesterday basically telling us that HDB do not allow food operation to continue from home. Thanks to her many got affected and unhappy because she started "raising" this issue .https://t.co/isT6HGusne pic.twitter.com/UN6cnN5Fr7
— åqil Ž? (@AqilZulaieff) April 25, 2020

The former actress has since apologized in some manner for her video on Twitter.

FITNAH. You guys can point out the time stamp of my “viral video” where I “pauto” to HDB? ? like clear cut I pauto. @Pengkritique u boleh point out since u dah buat article tu?
— Ateeqah Mazlan (@eeqanoemi) April 25, 2020

The backlash was intense, as Circuit Breaker measures have caused several money-making festivals and ventures for small food and beverage makers to shut down.

Minister Masagos Zulkifli said on Monday, April 27, that pressuring the government to ease restrictions on certain sectors is not in the interest of the country’s fight against the disease, and that anyone inciting such pressure or being the cause of the outcry was irresponsible.

With the cancellation of widespread Hari Raya gatherings and food fairs, a lot of SMEs are unable to take advantage of the season to gain a boost in sales.