KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and police have launched a joint probe into independent preacher Zamri Vinoth, believed to be over his Facebook post on the kavadi ritual.
According to MCMC, a suspect was summoned for statement-taking at the Padang Besar police headquarters in Perlis on March 6 over an allegedly inflammatory post related to 3R (race, religion, and royalty) on social media and police seized the device used to make the post.
MCMC did not name the suspect but was responding to Scoop on queries regarding Zamri.
The investigation is being led by the police’s classified criminal investigation unit under Section 505(c) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998. Meanwhile, MCMC is providing technical assistance to facilitate the probe, it told Scoop.
Yesterday, it was reported that MCMC had asked Facebook to remove Zamri’s post, which was found to contain elements of an offence under Section 233 of the CMA. The platform later took down the post on March 9 following its own review process and community guidelines, which the commission also confirmed in its written response.
MCMC said it received a complaint regarding the matter on March 5 and, upon review, determined that the content contained elements of an offence under Section 233 of the CMA, which governs improper use of network facilities.
On the same day, it filed a request for the removal of the content.
Zamri’s post has drawn backlash for reportedly containing offensive remarks about the Hindu kavadi ritual. The comments came amid public outcry over a separate controversy involving three Era FM radio presenters who were accused of mocking the ritual on social media. The presenters later apologised. – March 10, 2025