GE14 | After being questioned by the police and Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) officials over several tweets, a man has accused the commission of overreach by allegedly “taking over” his Twitter account.
Muhammad Hafiz Rayyan told a press conference today that he was questioned for four hours on April 8 at the Taman Sentosa police station in Klang over two tweets he had posted.
He was investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which concerns the “improper use of network facilities or network service.”
During questioning, he was made to reveal his Twitter account’s log-in e-mail and password as well as surrendering his mobile phone.
He later claimed that his account had been “taken over” by the MCMC.
“I found out that the commission had changed my password and e-mail login to my Twitter account. I could not access my account until I made a formal request to Twitter (via email) and they returned me access to my account.
“This action by MCMC is beyond their scope of powers,” Muhammad Hafiz said at the Suaram office in Petaling Jaya.
While he has since re-obtained access to his account, he said his mobile phone was still in MCMC’s possession, and he does not rule out taking legal action against the commission.
Malaysiakini has contacted the Taman Sentosa police station and the MCMC for comment and is awaiting their response.
Muhammad Hafiz’s lawyer, Syahredzan Johan told the same press conference that the MCMC did not have the power to shut users out from their social media accounts.
“MCMC has the power to ask for someone’s password (to their social media accounts), but it does not have the power to change the password and shut users out from their own accounts.
“This goes beyond what they are allowed to do as stipulated by Parliament in the act.
“What (Hafiz) tweeted about were very mild things not considered to be insulting or seditious. Does this incident show the (caretaker) government’s low tolerance towards criticism just because it is near elections?” he asked.
Muhammad Hafiz, whose @HafizRayyan Twitter account has some 44,900 followers, was questioned over these two tweets posted on April 6.
Salam @NajibRazak. Kat mana dah? Lamanya. Janji 11.30am live. We are watching empty live for past 15min. melayu betul, janji.
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Umno dah cukup sial dan angkuh ditampuk kuasa. Dlm keadaan ini aku pilih Anwar Ibrahim as game changer.
Adalah satu kerugian kita tak beri peluang pada sosok ini. @anwaribrahim is an ideology more than a person. he is the symbol of justice, fairness, equality & diversity!!
Hafiz said he was concerned that the incident meant that the authorities were cracking down on freedom of speech as polling day for the 14th general election drew nearer.
“The reason for my press conference today is to reveal to the public what happened to me.
“I worry that as we draw closer to polling day (on May 9), we will see more of such incidents happening, where citizens have action taken against them for criticising the government and the (caretaker) prime minister,” he said. - Mkini
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