PKR youth leader lodges report against Anwar over alleged 'fake news'

A PKR youth leader has lodged a police report against PKR president Anwar Ibrahim for the alleged sharing of "fake news" linked to the number of undocumented migrants here and on the operations of betting shops during the movement control order (MCO) period.

Teluk Kemang PKR Youth secretary Farid Hashim (photo) in a statement said Anwar had shared the misleading statements in two Facebook live sessions during the MCO period.

"This is a serious offence given his position as PKR president and Port Dickson MP.

"His statements are widely shared by many parties," said Farid, who is also the local coordinator for Pemuda Negara, an NGO led by Gombak Setia assemblyperson Hilman Idham and Seberang Jaya assemblyperson Dr Afif Bahardin.

"Action must be taken and so I lodged a police report against him.

"Don't let the rakyat see that if an ordinary person starts 'fake news' they will be arrested, jailed and fined, but politicians are spared from actions," said Farid.

On April 28, Umno Youth exco Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, better known as Papagomo had also lodged a police report against Anwar over the sharing of alleged fake news about the number of undocumented migrant workers here.

At the time, Anwar's aide Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak clarified that Anwar had cited a figure of 6.7 million foreign workers and estimated four million undocumented migrants from a news report that quoted a local NGO.

The Department of Statistics meanwhile confirmed that it had never released any official data on the number of undocumented migrants.

Meanwhile, Farid also cited Anwar's remarks on May 5 that betting shops had reopened for business, despite a denial already being issued by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry’s Rapid Response unit.

Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission have as of May 11 probed 262 cases of alleged fake news linked to Covid-19.

From the figure, 179 are still under investigation while 29 have been charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. - Mkini