“When I’m doing my TikTok live at events, often the comments people make touch on 3R. I’ve said this in many places that social media users should not use 3R for political purposes.”
- Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil
For the record, not using the 3Rs (religion, race, and royalty) for political purposes is complete horse manure. It is a political ideology that the political mainstream subscribes to in this country.
Every policy decision is based on the 3Rs, it is just that people who disagree with the 3Rs should not talk about it. From Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, political operatives using the 3Rs for political purposes are not sanctioned by the state but if you are the unlucky dissenter who points out that the 3Rs are part of the problem, then the state comes down on you like a tonne of bricks. So, there is that.
However, what I want to know (and maybe you do too) is how on earth Fahmi spouts such nonsense about not using the 3Rs for political purposes when Perikatan Nasional (PN) is running riot by demonising the non-Malay communities and the bureaucracy, especially the cog led by Fahmi, is doing absolutely nothing about it.
Even when he was the communications officer for PKR, Fahmi (above) had no problem playing heavy and causing confusion amongst Pakatan Harapan allies. Take for instance in 2016, DAP’s Syerleena Abdul Rashid had to publicly correct Fahmi about the Kajang Move.
She said: “I wish to correct PKR communications officer Fahmi Fadzil’s statement that DAP was consulted prior to the announcement by PKR of the previous Penanti state seat, Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, or the Kajang state seat by-elections. DAP national leaders were left in the dark and practically knew only about the by-elections when it was published in the online media.”
But then again, Fahmi has a history of miscommunication. Remember when Anwar and his then party deputy Azmin Ali were publically feuding, Fahmi claimed that all of this was the figment of the imagination of the press.
“That is something portrayed by the media. I understand that there could be a perception of such, but the reality is, there are no camps. What we have now is a PKR that is strong and united.” – which is Trumpian in its perversity.
Or how about when Fahmi confirmed that Anwar had ordered the probe on Baling MP Hassan Saad for allegedly calling him an Israeli agent and then Saifuddin Nasution Ismail claimed otherwise and Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) asked for a clarification?
“It was Fahmi who made the public statement on Nov 28 that Anwar ordered police to investigate those who slander him or call him an Israeli agent. Fahmi’s statement was never rebutted or denied by the Prime Minister’s Office or Anwar himself,” said LFL.
Look, I happen to think that the Lembah Pantai MP has a lot of potential. When lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri was harassed, Fahmi was one of the few political operatives who showed support and made an argument as to why the intimidation should stop. And this was against his own government and security apparatus.
However, things have apparently changed. Between picking fights with Telegram and having miscommunication problems about sending the state security apparatus to the doorsteps of errant social media users, Fahmi has become the poster boy for what Harapan promised not to do when Anwar came into power.
Before and after election
Fahmi recently announced that there were no moves yet to draft laws holding social media companies accountable for fake news.
“We are currently not taking that direction, but we have a consistent and proactive engagement,” he said.
The key word here is, yet? This is the problem with Harapan political operatives.
Before an election, they are all about free speech and how the media needs to be free, but after the election when Harapan is so desperate not to spook the Malays or are on the receiving end of the doomsday messaging of their opponents and they see how damaging it is to the economy, they run sacred and attempt to muzzle the press and curtail free speech.
Fahmi’s latest announcement of the collaboration between his ministry, the state security apparatus and Meta to curb online crimes, is laughable.
For instance, when Fahmi said, “I believe that the cooperation established allows scams, online gambling, and 3R issues on the Meta platform to be reduced.” Really? How exactly is Meta going to help with that?
Firstly, online gambling is not something that Meta or any other social media company thinks is detrimental to their bottom line.
Furthermore, 3R issues deal with free speech and does Fahmi really believe that Meta, of all companies, is going to cooperate with his ministry when it comes to an ill-defined concept like 3R when Meta has done nothing to crack down on “hate speech” in numerous countries around the world?
What Fahmi is doing is alienating people who are on the Harapan coalition government’s side by not only playing the heavy but spouting nonsense about 3Rs, disregarding his reformist credentials, and most importantly, aligning with the religious extremists when it comes to cultural issues (‘Pulau’ fiasco) and the 3Rs.
When Fahmi claimed that it was a miscommunication about watching your words and being monitored by the authorities, National Human Rights Society (Hakam) president M Ramachelvam said: “As the communications and digital minister, he should have used his position to answer the comments left by viewers rather than to say the authorities will come after them.
“Threats by government ministers against freedom of expression leave a negative perception of the government (which has a duty) to uphold this fundamental constitutional right guaranteed to citizens,” he told an online news portal.
As the communications and digital minister, Fahmi has real problems. He belongs to a coalition that is at war with a political enemy who has complete supremacy over the social media landscape.
PN’s propaganda machine led by PAS has demonstrated that not only are they better at using social media to get their message across, but they have also demonstrated that the legacy media landscape is irrelevant to their political agenda except when it is convenient to use it as a cudgel to whack the prime minister’s supposedly dictatorial style.
I have no idea if Fahmi really believes what he says but what I do know is that one of the more important ministries which could be an asset to this government is becoming a liability under Fahmi’s watch. - Mkini
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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