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KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition lawmaker Chan Foong Hin called on Tuesday (November 24) that Malaysia outlaw online hate speech, accusing authorities of downplaying the seriousness of an issue highlighted by a Reuters investigation into abuse Rohingya refugees and undocumented migrants on Facebook.
Citing the Reuters report on the rise of online xenophobia in Malaysia in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chan, Member of Parliament for the Democratic Action Party (DAP) for Kota Kinabalu, asked the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia the week past that he declared his plans to combat such hate speech.
In a parliamentary response written Thursday, the ministry said that hate speech on social media platforms like Facebook was assessed according to the companies’ terms and would be removed if it violated community standards.
The ministry did not directly refer to the Reuters report in its response, but said it had instructed state broadcaster RTM and state news agency Bernama to produce reports that would help correct “misconceptions” and curb “outside elements. trying to make Malaysia look bad. “
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Chan said authorities appeared to deflect responsibility from Facebook or downplay hate speech as “misconceptions” or “fake news.”
“The ministry appears to be in denial and believes that the hate speech reported by Reuters is under control, and there is no need for any additional control by law,” he said. “It is time that we enact laws that punish those responsible for incitement to hatred.”
Chan added that current laws were not adequate to control “those who create and spread hate speech” between different communities.
Malaysia has comprehensive laws against offensive and seditious comments that cover some aspects of hate speech, but some have called for a specific law on hate speech, citing ethnic and religious sensitivities in the multi-ethnic Southeast Asian country.
Muslim-majority Malaysia has long supported the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority fleeing persecution in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, but sentiment changed in April amid accusations that refugees and undocumented immigrants were bringing the coronavirus. .
Human rights groups have accused the Malaysian government of failing to counter growing anti-migrant sentiment.
