This was in response to a circular by the ministry on Sept 30 that allowances would be delayed due to “technical issues” and urged landlords to waive any penalty or late charges for delay by students in paying rent.

The tweet stated: “Higher Education Ministry (MoHE) would like to assure that all MoHe sponsored students overseas will receive their allowance by Friday October 7 2016. Thank you.”

A check with the ministry’s corporate communications division confirmed the initial circular that went viral on social media was authentic.

The letterhead was addressed to “All Education Malaysia.”

The circular added the letter was to serve as a guarantee letter from the Scholarship Division of the Higher Education ministry that the affected students would receive their allowances by Oct 14.

It also urged students to pay for the accommodation first and apologised for any inconvenience caused.