PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he does not agree if activist and graphic artist Fahmi Reza were to be arrested or charged.
“I don’t agree,“ Anwar was quoted as saying in a press conference by the New Straits Times,.
Anwar also shared that he does not believe that every criticism of the government requires an investigation.
Recently, Bukit Aman opened investigation papers against the satirical graphic artist after he posted an artwork depicting newly appointed Sabah governor Tun Musa Aman.
Fahmi posted a picture of himself with the graphic on his X account before his appearance at Bukit Aman for police questioning.
The artwork was posted on December 17, when Musa was appointed as the 11th governor of the state of Sabah.
The post is being investigated under the Sedition Act, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network facilities, and Section 504 of the Penal Code for intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of the peace.
Answering a question on the relevance of Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, he stated that the act is “necessary”, as quoted, in other issues such as pornography and cyberbullying, citing the case of A. Rajeswary or Esha, an influencer on TikTok who was found dead in her apartment on July 5 this year after lodging a police report that she was cyberbullied.
Furthermore, Anwar mentioned that in situations of the royalty being insulted, he said the authorities taking action was “beyond him”, as quoted.
“Because they (royalty) are not in ‘the game’, they cannot respond.”
“Sometimes there are inciting statements that also touch on racial and religious sentiments.
“I don’t agree for action to be taken against all cases but criticisms related to race and religion, we don’t condone those,” he was quoted as saying.
