BUKIT MERTAJAM: Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim's team has filed a police report against a social media user for claiming that Sim said Hospital Bukit Mertajam would be relocated to avoid disturbing a temple.
In a statement on Tuesday (March 24), Sim's special officer Lim Zheng Han said he lodged the report requesting authorities to investigate the user, who goes by "Hamly Hadi".
"We urge for strict and uncompromising action to be taken to ensure the slander and incitement do not continue to spread.
"I have filed a report on the dissemination of statements containing racial and religious incitement on social media, which contain untrue allegations regarding the hospital.
"The Facebook post on March 22 by 'Hamly Hadi' contains a screenshot from a video of Sim's visit to the hospital on Sept 15 last year.
"The visit was intended to inspect basic facilities and assess the need for upgrades.
"The post by Hamly Hadi was accompanied by a headline claiming that the 'Bukit Mertajam Hospital will be moved so as not to disturb the temple – Steven Sim Chee Keong'," he said.
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Lim stressed that the statement is untrue, misleading and malicious.
"There is no proposal to relocate the hospital as alleged.
"There are plans to build an additional building on the existing site to accommodate the increasing number of patients.
"Claims like this can not only tarnish Sim's name but cause tension and threaten the harmony of the diverse society in Malaysia," he said.
Lim said the act constitutes an offence under the law, including but not limited to Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for misuse of network facilities, Sections 499 and 500 of the Penal Code for defamation and Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for statements likely to cause public fear or alarm.
It was reported earlier that the hospital's Board of Visitors came forward to clarify that the claims of relocation are untrue, defamatory and made with malicious intent.
The board said that Sim's September 2025 visit, in his capacity as Bukit Mertajam MP and Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister, did not touch on any temple-related issue and instead focused on efforts to upgrade hospital facilities for the people's well-being.
"The defamatory statement spread on social media clearly contains elements of racial and religious incitement, which could undermine social harmony and create public confusion," the board said in a statement.
Earlier, a Facebook post went viral alleging that Sim had said the hospital would be relocated to avoid disturbing a temple in the area, accompanied by images of his visit to the hospital.
