KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has refuted lawyer Dr Shamsher Singh Thind’s claim that his Facebook post regarding the controversy around Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti) was blocked on the orders of Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
MCMC takes action based on complaints and adheres to the standard operating procedures (SOP) that are in place, it said.
“In a post on June 3, the Facebook account owner gave the impression that Teo was behind the decision to block the post.
“MCMC would like to stress that this is not true,” it said in a statement.
The commission said it takes action based on a thorough investigation when it identifies content containing untrue and misleading elements, in addition to violating Meta’s community guidelines.
MCMC also said that one of its main responsibilities is to ensure that online platforms comply with Malaysia’s laws, which means no spreading of false or defamatory news.
Shamser was reported to have claimed that one of his posts on the Asia Mobiliti issue on Facebook on May 26 was blocked after a legal request by MCMC.
He also claimed that Teo had come to the defence of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh regarding alleged nepotism in the Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) pilot project, which implicated Hannah’s husband, Asia Mobiliti CEO Ramachandran Muniandy.
Asia Mobiliti, the Selangor government, and Yeoh are currently in the spotlight over Ramachandran’s ties to the minister amid concerns that the PoC was awarded to his firm without an open tender.
Selangor Investment, Trade, and Mobility executive councillor Ng Sze Han has said the decision to involve only Asia Mobiliti and another firm, Badan Bas Coach Sdn Bhd, in the proof-of-concept phase was based on the fact that they were the only companies licensed by the Land Public Transport Agency.
Asia Mobiliti, meanwhile, has said an open tender would have “created a monopoly” in a “highly specialised service,” which only it and Badan Bas were qualified to perform.
Various figures, including Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, have since asserted that Yeoh did not influence the state’s decision to appoint her husband’s company for the DRT pilot project. – June 4, 2024