Police and MCMC investigate Facebook post with alleged offensive remarks against Islam, Allah and Prophet Muhammad.
JOHOR BAHRU: Police have detained a man over a Facebook post allegedly containing remarks insulting Islam and obscene language directed at Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Johor police chief CP Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said police received a report at about 12.38 am from a local man who alleged that a viral post had been uploaded by the owner of the Facebook account “Fadzil Zahari”.
He said preliminary checks revealed that the account owner had shared several screenshots uploaded by “Parthiban Ragu”, which allegedly contained material insulting Islam and obscene and offensive remarks directed at Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
“Acting on the information, police arrested a 37-year-old local man in Iskandar Puteri at about 1 am today,” he said in a statement today.
Ab Rahaman said police also confiscated two mobile phones and found, following background checks, that the suspect had no past criminal record.
He said the case was being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988, as well as Section 298 of the Penal Code.
“The suspect was brought before the magistrate’s court here, which approved a four-day remand order against him from today until next Tuesday.
He also cautioned all parties against making any remarks or raising issues related to the 3Rs (religion, race and the royal institution) in ways that could disrupt public harmony and security.
In a separate statement, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it was investigating complaints over alleged 3R-related content on Facebook which was accused of insulting Islam.
MCMC said it would take strict action against any misuse of communication platforms that was found to be in breach of the law.
The statement said MCMC was also cooperating closely with the police and ready to provide technical support and digital expertise to assist with the investigation.
