PUTRAJAYA – Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil hopes that social media giant Meta, which removed news reports of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s meeting with a Hamas leader, will not repeat that action in the future.
He said social media platforms need to respect Malaysia’s stance as a sovereign country, including reporting on any statements made by members of the administration including the prime minister.
“Alhamdulillah. 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, under the existing leadership, has a very clear position on several matters,” he said.
He said this at a press conference following the special events committee meeting in conjunction with the coronation of His Majesty the King of Malaysia, here today, when asked to comment on the actions of the social media platform operator which re-uploaded the post.
Earlier, the media reported that Meta re-uploaded the news report of Anwar’s meeting with a Hamas leader on their social media platform which had been taken down the day before.
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.
Anwar on Tuesday met the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar and also insisted that, although he has a good relationship with the political leader of the group, 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 its removal of news of Anwar’s meeting with the Hamas chief on several local media platforms. – May 16, 2024