PUTRAJAYA: Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil hopes that the incident involving the operator of the social media platform, Meta Platforms Inc (Meta), which removed a news report of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's meeting with Hamas leader on its social media platform, will not be repeated in the future.
He said social media platforms must respect Malaysia's stance as a sovereign country, including reporting on any statements made by administration members, including the prime minister.
"We hope it won't happen again.
"In June, I will hold a meeting with all the platforms to affirm that Malaysia, as a sovereign country, is under the existing leadership and has a very clear position on several matters," he said.
He said this at a press conference on Thursday (May 16) following the Special Events Committee Meeting in conjunction with the Coronation Ceremony of His Majesty the King of Malaysia, when asked to comment on the actions of the social media platform operator that re-uploaded the post.
Earlier, the media reported that Meta re-uploaded the news report of Anwar's meeting with the Hamas leader on their social media platform, which was taken down on Wednesday (May 15).
The company reportedly said it made a mistake after the Malaysian government wanted to impose tough measures against Meta and other social media companies if they continued to block pro-Palestinian content on their platforms.
"The removal action issued was an error and has now been restored," a Meta spokesman said in an email to Reuters.
On Tuesday (May 14), Anwar met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar and insisted that, although he had a good relationship with the group's political leader, he was not involved in its military actions.
Yesterday, Fahmi said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had sent a letter to Meta to seek an explanation regarding the removal of the news report of Anwar's meeting with the top leader of Hamas on several local media platforms. – Bernama
