One story slipped quickly under the radar as Malaysians moved their attention to other developments, mainly the removal of blanket subsidies on diesel.
Hannah Yeoh could have breathed a sigh of relief as the Malaysian internet scene seemed to forget about her husband's company being chosen for a Demand-Responsive Transit (DRT) project in Selangor under the Selangor Mobility initiative, where she was once the speaker for the state assembly. The company, Asia Mobiliti was selected without an open tender, along with another company.
Much has been said about the transparency, the so-called tatakelola, and the issues of undue influence that arise from the project. But what many seem to miss, particularly the so-called champions of free speech, is how a government agency under the Communication Ministry is shutting down critics of ministers and the governments.
The stench could be sniffed miles away, yet not much noise greets this unwelcomed development when it was made public. On June 3rd, it was revealed that the Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission had asked Meta to censor a post by a Penang-based lawyer, Shamsher Singh Thind where Shamsher criticized Hannah over the Asia Mobiliti issue.
In the Facebook post, Shamsher had cynically congratulated Hannah and DAP for the news, along with an old tweet where DAP claimed it adheres to its manifesto to implement open tender as extensively and transparently as possible.
The Facebook post is now blocked for Malaysian users. Shamsher had then sent a legal notice to the internet regulator body asking for an explanation for the request.
The answer he received could not be worse. In a letter sent to Shamsher's legal representative, MCMC said the reason for the takedown request was because the posting had ‘triggered’ comments from other users and followers that were ‘insulting, offensive, discordant and disgusting’.
MCMC also said that several other postings on Facebook had published offensive statements intending to ‘bother and cyber-bully’ Hannah Yeoh, who is named in all of the postings.
What is insulting here is the excuse that a federal body used to defend a federal minister. Since when did MCMC become a spokesperson for a minister involved in a controversy? If it was defamation, the said minister and the company involved could simply sue the lawyer and bring this matter to court.
MCMC's involvement in silencing critics is uncalled for. It goes against everything the current government has been fighting for. If the logic applies to everyone, hundreds of Pakatan Harapan supporters should have been silenced the same way, given the level of ‘cyber-bully’ the practice to ministers from the previous government. Najib's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor would have a field day telling everyone how she and her family were ‘cyber-bullied’ by the then opposition cytros.
The commission also said that Shamsher's posting does not intend to create ‘healthy debate and discussion’.
Several questions arise from this development:
- Who can determine what is considered valid criticism and what is considered ‘cyber-bully’?
- Would MCMC act against critics of the opposition too, and be their spokesperson had anyone tried to criticize opposition figures?
- Should we only use social media for healthy debate?
The question that Shamsher raised is not valid, but needs to be answered in a proper ministerial manner.
MCMC is setting a dangerous precedent. If the government changes, PH would have no moral superiority in talking about the suppression of free speech at the behest of those in power. MCMC's action not only stifled public discourse, but it made people skeptical and distrustful of governmental institutions.
Hannah herself had been advocating for good governance. So it is only time that she be reminded of the thing she fought for.
Speaking to this author, UiTM communication lecturer Abdul Aziz Azizam said that while it is normal for the government to 'cleanse; the image of their political figures, blocking interaction and questions are over the top.
"In this case, monitoring the use of social media had led to an additional negative perception to a government agency where questions arise on whether the takedown request was done transparently on a valid ground.
“Data shows social media users in Malaysia are 30.25 million and I don't think that the main function of MCMC's existence is to stop the people's interaction,” he said.
In the latest report, Malaysia had the highest takedown request on TikTok last year. The application's bi-annual Government Removal Request Report revealed that Malaysia has requested 1,862 content takedowns in the second half of 2023, a jump of 447.6% from only 340 in the first half.
Many TikTok users have said that their videos are taken down or blocked simply because they are poking fun at the government. One opposition MP, Radzi Jidin, had his video about Ringgit decline taken down late last year.
PH must remember that one of the reasons that they are able to win Parliamentary seats because they were no censorship against their political campaigns. The coalition must therefore honour the very same principle that led them to Putrajaya.
It is already tiring to listen to the 3R excuse parroted almost daily by Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil. The cyber-bully excuse is ridiculous, and could make MCMC a laughing stock.
Malaysia is perhaps the only country where its struggling citizens should sympathize with a minister for being cyberbullied - never mind the lucrative project her husband is awarded to.
Ahmad Mustakim is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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