Malaysian athletes and sports icons took to social media to urge citizens to stay at home after the Malaysian government implemented a two-week restricted movement order to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

The order, which came into effect on Wednesday and scheduled to end on March 31, put a complete ban on on all movements and large gatherings including religious activities, sports, social and cultural events.

Despite that, some Malaysians were seen taking the ban lightly, forcing the likes of Lee Chong Wei, Nicol David and more to step up and advise the public to adhere to the order.

Dua hari lepas, ada khabar angin restriction order berkenaan coronavirus ni. So Mew Choo pon suruh pergi beli ape yg patut untuk 2 minggu ni. Wife add maths lagi terrer, so ikot shopping list wife. Family 4 orang, ayam 5 ekor, beras 1 bag, sayur 2 minggu, Maggie 2 pack, telor 2 dozen, buah, toilet paper 1 bag. Tapi time I sampai supermarket, aduhai! Ramainyer auntie2 makcik2, macam lumba marathon trolly! Kalah Khairul Jantan! Nasib baik sempat lagi kumpul shopping list wife. Tapi toilet paper I terlambat. Ternganga I tgk mamat depan I tapao 10 bag tisu jamban! Banyaknyer jubur kat rumah. (Toilet papers are important during previous pandemic period due to unclean water and psychological effect) Datang suatu suara menyeru dari belakang, ”Lee, nah amik bag ni. I terambik 2. Tadi tgk sumer rebut tapao wa pon terikot amik extra, ntah kenape, bukan I pakai untuk basuh pon!“ Dia Nazir, sahabat yang tinggal berhampiran. Kita tergelak and catch up sket. Selepas tu, makin ramai gangster trolly serbu, I pon terus cabut, sebab I tau virus ni merebak mudah. Kawan sekalian, saya berharap agar jangan cemas menghadapi krisis ini. Simpanlah makanan tapi berpatutanlah bilangannya. Dan I minta tolong semua duduk di rumah jgn keluar sementara ni. Jangan balik kampong macam cuti raya. Ko mungkin ok, tapi yg mati nnt orang tersayang. Percayalah, mimpi ngeri ini akan berakhir. Jangan panic. Kita warga Malaysia tak kira bangsa dan agama berganding bahu, bertolak ansur, tolong menolong, hari itu akan sampai dengan lebih cepat. Kepada frontliners, para doctor, missi, kakitangan hospital dan juga cashier pasaraya yang terus berkhidmat dalam masa ini. Terimalah tunduk kehormatan dari saya! Cara paling baik kita membalas budi dan bersumbang, is to #STAYHOME #JUSTSTAYATHOME #STAYHOMESAFELIFES #WEAREMALAYSIAN #MALAYSIABOLEH

A post shared by Datuk Wira Lee Chong Wei (@leechongweiofficial) on



"I urge everyone to stay at home and not go out at this moment. Don't go back to your hometown like it's the Hari Raya break. You might be okay, but the ones who die could be your loved ones.

"Have faith that this nightmare will be over. We as Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, must work together and help one another so that the end arrives quicker," Lee wrote on Instagram.

We’re going through tough times, we are all uncertain and we all don’t have clarity of what’s going to happen . Now more than ever it’s important to do the right thing, let’s work as a team and let’s be compassionate. . I wish everyone is safe and keep your families close to you. Please follow the recommendations that have been given and please stay home. #stayhome #letscometogether #becompassionate #thinkofeveryonetoo #besafe

A post shared by Nicol David (@nicoldsquash) on



"Now more than ever it’s important to do the right thing, let’s work as a team and let’s be compassionate.

"I wish everyone is safe and keep your families close to you. Please follow the recommendations that have been given and please stay home," wrote Nicol to her fans.

National bowlers Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi and Sin Li Jane also encouraged the public to stay at home and use the opportunity to bond with family members.

"Over the next two weeks, just keep calm and stay at home. I think this is the right time to spend time with our family," said Syaidatul.

Sin echoed the same sentiment: "Let's obey the restriction movement order for the next two weeks and stay home. We still can work from home, exercise from home and spend more time with our family members."

Cycling icon Azizulhasni Awang, meanwhile, told his Instagram followers that the ban was not an excuse to skip exercising.

・・・ Since the government has taking action by restricting movement, it does not stop me from working out to remain active. And so do you. There’s no excuse that you can’t exercise just because the gym is closed or any other relevant excuses during this COVID-19 closure. Trust me on this if you google ‘workout during coronovirus’, there’ll be a lot of videos and articles offering and sharing home workouts that you can try out. But to save some time i’ll share with you some workouts from @isnmalaysia that you can do at home. Check out my IG story for each workout description. Enjoy it guys ?✌️. . #covid_19 #coronavirus #corona #teamazizul #azizulawang #teamcimb #cimb #forward #airasia #daretodream #allstars #daikin #daikinmy #daikinmalaysia #tumi #tumiglobalcitizens #nike #nikemy #oakley #oakleymy #ogk #ogkkabuto #wattbike

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Besides current and former athletes, sports teams and organisations in Malaysia also did their part to educate the masses, such as Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) with their public service announcements.

PANDEMIK COVID-19: MENGHINDAR DAN MENCEGAH PENULARAN __ COVID-19 PANDEMIC: AVOID & PREVENT SPREAD Hidup Johor Demi Johor #HarimauSelatan #SouthernTigers #PermataSelatan #JewelOfTheSouth #JDTuntukSemua #JDTforAll

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As of Wednesday, Malaysia recorded two deaths and more than 700 infected cases due to the coronavirus pandemic.