A CAMBODIAN woman livestreaming from a business premise in Johor has landed her and her son in hot soup with her choice of inappropriate words.
According to Bernama, the pair were charged at the Ayer Keroh Magistrate’s Court here yesterday (Dec 7) for allegedly uttering Melayu malas (Malays are lazy) in a video which has gone viral on social media recently.
Melaka police said the 47-year-old woman who owns a business in Johor Bahru would be charged under Section 505(c) of the Penal Code for uttering the words with intent to incite a class or community of persons.
“Her 22-year-old son will be charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for using network facilities to transmit communication deemed to be offensive,” it said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec 6).
Earlier, the video clip of the woman live streaming from a Muslimah clothing store went viral on social media. The woman who has lived in Malaysia for a long time has claimed that Cambodians are intelligent and hardworking compared to Malays who are lazy.
The question that begs to be asked is why have the authorities deemed it necessary to make an example of this lady and her son?
As many Malaysians will recall, this is an assertion that was often trumpeted by no less a personage than former twice premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The former UMNO president’s assertions were widely reported in the media with many Malays taking great umbrage at his Melayu malas remarks.
Why was the elderly statesman who in recent times has been very vocal about the unity government allowed to get away with it?
As for causing offence, compare and contrast the accusation by PAS spiritual leader Tan Sri Hadi Awang that the non-Malay community was at the root of most corruption in the country. Isn’t that offensive and aimed at inciting certain communities?
In the case of Cambodian woman, she even said in the video that she was only joking, and later posted an apology video.
Contrast that to both Dr Mahathir and his Muslim cleric ally Hadi who have yet to apologise for their incendiary remarks – or even to clarify that their remarks were only made in jest.
Double standards and selective prosecution come to mind. – Dec 8, 2023
