Fahmi Reza targets Johor regent; death threat, police reports ensue

 

Activist Fahmi Reza is facing a barrage of police reports again as he takes on another powerful figure. He has also received at least one death threat.

The backlash ensued after the graphic artist began taking jabs at Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.

In a social media post on Dec 15, he questioned why Tunku Ismail seemed to be able to do as he pleases without any legal repercussions.

It is not clear what prompted the posting. Malaysiakini has contacted Fahmi for comment.

It came less than a week after a company headed by the Johor regent launched a new cryptocurrency stablecoin, RMJDT.

Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim

Tunku Ismail is also the subject of intense speculation about his purported involvement in the recruitment of seven "heritage" footballers, whom the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) has accused of falsifying documents to obtain Malaysian citizenship.

After Fahmi's initial posting, he claimed to have been alerted by social media platform X that the MCMC wanted his post removed. However, the platform allegedly refused to comply.

As of writing, Fahmi's post is still up on both Facebook and X. Neither platform is registered under the MCMC's social media licensing scheme. X claims it does not meet the threshold for licensing.

However, starting January, the MCMC will automatically license both platforms, in a bid to get them to comply with local laws and enforcement policies.

Sign of obsession

In total, Fahmi has made nine postings pitting himself against the Johor royalty.

One of the posts was a screenshot from 2022, where Tunku Ismail had messaged the activist on X, apologising for his account’s administrator blocking the latter. He also reiterated an invitation for the two to meet.

Fahmi, however, rejected the meeting, saying he does not meet with elites and those in power to avoid perceptions of bias.

In the wake of the postings, Johor state media reported that more than 50 police reports have been lodged against Fahmi.

Fahmi also posted today that a social media user had threatened to kill him.

"When criticism towards a royal is met with death threats, that is not a sign of loyalty. It's a sign of obsession," he said.

However, he dismissed the threat, saying it was more likely to be a boast. - Mkini