KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the police have been asked to investigate a Facebook user over a post said to have defamed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the owner of the 'Sam My' Facebook account was found to have malicious intent and deliberately created a negative perception against the Prime Minister by sharing an old photo.
"This Facebook owner has used an old photo (which also features my friend Abd Rahman Yusof, who died on June 8, 2021). I have requested MCMC and the police to immediately investigate the matter," he said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 5).
Seen in the photo which was uploaded on Saturday (Feb 4) are Anwar and several other individuals who are being served two large trays of food with a caption claiming ministers were feasting "in a foreign land" despite the rakyat being told to be thrifty, reported Bernama.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said he needed to shed light on the matter as he was seen in the photo.
"It was not taken in Malaysia. It was an old photo from 2019 before the fall of the Pakatan Harapan administration led by (then-prime minister) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"The photo was taken at the home of a Qatari sheikh, a close relative of the Qatar ruler, who hosted Anwar, several PKR MPs and Anwar's special officers," he said.
He said the entourage was in Doha with Anwar on the invitation of the Qatar prime minister, as well as for an international conference to commemorate an Islamic icon at a university there.
"At the time, Anwar was not yet prime minister; he was not even the Opposition leader as he had just won the Port Dickson by-election," Hassan said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
He said others in Anwar's entourage included then-Kapar MP Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, then-Kangar MP Noor Amin Ahmad, Kuala Kedah MP Dr Azman Ismail and the late former Kemaman MP Abdul Rahman Yusof.
"I recall feeling surprised by the lavish spread. We thought it was just part of Arabic culture and we were served large platters of lamb Nasi Arab, not camel," he added.
Hassan also urged Anwar not to make a police report against those who spread the claims, adding that it should be countered with fact and rational explanation.
