STATE POLLS | A trend of young people warning against “kafir harbi” taking over the country has emerged on social media amid state polls campaigning.
This is according to monitors of the #PRN 2023 “Say No to Hate Speech” Social Media Monitoring initiative led by the Centre of Independent Journalists taking place during the state election campaign period.
According to the group’s preliminary analysis, in several instances, messages on social media warned voters that the kafir harbi will take over if Muslims are not united.
In one TikTok video uploaded last week, a group of young people hold up their phones to show which state they'll be voting in and who they will vote for.
Some show they will vote for PAS, some for Pakatan Harapan, and others for BN.
The caption of the video reads: “Bersatu teguh bercerai kafir harbi take over (United we stand, divided the kafir harbi will take over).”
Kafir harbi refers to non-Muslims who are against Islam, as opposed to 'kafir zimmi', who are non-Muslims who live peacefully within an Islamic nation and whose rights are protected.
The use of the term to refer to non-Muslims is contentious because it is usually used in the context of warfare when killing enemies is permitted.
PN candidate: Kafir harbi got 40 seats
Another example flagged by the CIJ monitors is a Twitter post, which reposts a TikTok video of PAS' Pantai Merdeka candidate Shahrir Long.
In the video, Shahrir said “kafir harbi got 40 (parliamentary seats)”, likely referring to the DAP which has 40 seats in Dewan Rakyat.
“Those who say they are fighting for religion and race but don’t align themselves with Muslims.
“They are so angry with the kafir harbi, yet finally align themselves with the kafir harbi,” he said in the video, likely referring to the BN-Pakatan Harapan political pact.
The Twitter user who reposted that video, however, questioned how Shahrir could call the 40 MPs kafir harbi when some of those MPs are Muslims.
Most are not severe
Despite the violent connotations of the kafir harbi narratives, CIJ monitors found that most of the hate speech recorded on social media during this period was at Level 1 in severity, where they are considered general comments and non-offensive disagreements among social media users.
Of the 18,721 posts processed, only 25 posts (0.13 percent) were at Level 3 and four (0.02 percent) were at Level 4 in severity, respectively.
“The overall narratives are still on race and religion. However, they are not at high severity levels.
“Nonetheless, user-generated comments at Level 2 indicate that racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic comments and gender stereotypes continue to be normalised with no obvious counter-messaging from the general public,” the monitors found.
Dr M and Matt Healy
CIJ monitors also found hate speech surrounding race mostly centred around former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s social media posts challenging the rights of non-Malays in Malaysia.
His views were polarising on social media, with social media users split between agreeing and rebutting the ex-premier.
The cancellation of the Good Vibes Festival (GVF) last month after the lead singer of British band The 1975, Matt Healy, kissed his male bandmate, also led to hate speech against the LGBT community on social media, the monitors found.
“The issue is also politicised to appease the ongoing wave of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment among the public as observed when the communications and digital minister ordered an immediate cancellation (of GVF). Most were critical of the current government and called for voters to support PAS/PN,” the monitors found.
Comedian Jocelyn Chia’s comment in support of Healy also drew hate speech against her on the basis of gender, they said.
Somewhat unrelated to the state elections, various accounts were also found to produce hate speech against migrants including doxing what they claim to be undocumented migrants wanted by the Immigration Department.
Malaysiakini is the Media Partner of the #PRN 2023 “Say No to Hate Speech” Social Media Monitoring initiative.
Through this initiative, Malaysians can report online hate speech encountered during the state elections via this link.
You can also check out the Centre for Independent Journalism’s (CIJ) “Say No to Hate Speech” portal for additional data and resources. - Mkini
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