Gobind: We need laws to regulate hate speech

Gobind says he will take immediate action to rectify problems faced by broadband users.

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): There is a need to push ahead for laws which regulate hate speech, says Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

He said the law must also focus on more effective and efficient extra-territorial reach so as to facilitate the prosecution of persons who commit such offences from overseas here in Malaysia.

Referring to a turban remark against Director of the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department Datuk Seri Amar Singh by a blogger, the minister said it was an uncalled for attack against him (Amar Singh) and the Sikh community.

“It deserves nothing less than the highest degree of condemnation. It undermines the most basic values we Malaysians uphold, which is mutual respect for each other," he said in a Facebook posting on Sunday (Sept 30).

He also pointed out that Malaysians were a multiracial and multi-religious society, and therefore, such attacks against anyone to go unnoticed should not be allowed.

As such, he said this was an example why the law regulating hate speech needed to be pushed.

Raja Petra Kamarudin, in a post on his blog, Malaysia Today on Friday (Sept 28), titled “Amar Singh’s Turban Must Be Too Tight” had made a derogatory remark about his turban when responding to the senior cop's statement challenging Raja Petra’s allegation that police stole RM43.3mil following raids at various premises linked to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in May over the 1MDB scandal.

Comm Amar on Sunday described the blogger’s remarks about his turban as “racist” saying it was demeaning to ridicule a person due to race. - Bernama