Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged Malaysians not to panic over the country's first probable death from the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( Sars ).
The health ministry on Saturday said a 64-year-old man, who died in a Kuala Lumpur hospital after visiting China and Singapore last month, was probably Malaysia's first victim of Sars.
Abdullah yesterday said the government had set up a special ministerial committee which had implemented various measures to curb the spread of the mysterious disease.
"There's no need to panic, why should we panic?" he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.