WITH various political parties gearing up for the 16th General Election (GE16) which must be held by February 2028, all manner of accusations and even bald-faced lies are being hurled in the name of scoring political points.
Apart from fiery debates and heated exchanges between online gladiators keen on furthering their own agendas, there have been a proliferation of disinformation and fake news designed specifically to create racial tension.
This was highlighted in a Facebook post by political analyst Norman Radzuan who cautioned against swallowing the lies floating in cyberspace without prior verification.
The social commenter was reacting to news – since discredited – that former PKR graduate wing chairman Yuveraaj Pillai has been appointed Senior Secretary to the Selangor Islamic Affairs and Innovation Committee chairman Dr Mohammad Fahmi Ngah.
The former editor urged Malaysians to engage their grey matter to save the country from being torn asunder by racial divisions which the fake post is clearly trying to do.
“It is no longer a hidden agenda but over the past two to three years, our country has been increasingly threatened by the most serious racial division since Merdeka,” cautioned the content creator.
“Slander is increasingly being used to incite hatred between races. After the Chinese, it’s now the turn of the Indians to be attacked to disrupt racial harmony.”
Don’t believe the fitnah spread was the clear message here as he implored: “May Allah give you reason. Have you ever asked yourself whether the news is logical or not? Is it logical to appoint a non-Muslim to this position?”
Editor’s Note: Apparently, Fahmi has given 24 hours to social media account owners to take down their sharing of the viral congratulatory infographic to Yuveraaj for his senior secretary appointment lest he would contemplate taking legal recourse.
Moreover, the PKR graduate wing itself has also issued a statement denying that the infographic was supposedly issued by them.
Arguing that the news was designed specifically to inflame the Malays into hating other races and to oppose the Madani administration, Norman surmised that the Malay culture of corruption and slander seems to have been normalised.
His warning was echoed by a number of commenters who expressed grave concerns over the latest fitnah.
That there were those who dared spread such malicious lies during the holy month of Ramadhan underlined that these weren’t true followers of the faith, argued an obviously disgusted observer.
Norman had postulated in his post that some Malays weren’t particularly bothered about the spread of such fake news as long as their own political party gets the necessary mileage.
This agenda to sow seeds of discord among the races though the spread of lies, fake news and disinformation is being used to bait the Malays into hating other communities. Eventually, this will be the hammer that destroys the country, he warned ominously.
Such views were in abundance on social media sites that sought to pass on the fictional announcement as fact.
One of those actively spreading this lie is Facebooker Kapten B Khalifah who furiously queried just what did a non-Muslim understand about Islam to qualify for the post? There were plenty of angry sentiments expressed to show that this ploy was working.
As can be seen, race relations are getting very heated and the temperature keeps rising, thanks to fake news such as this.
With emotions running high, as Norman Radzuan counselled, it is best to keep cool, analyse the facts and engage that God-given gift called the brain. To swallow such disinformation, hook, line and sinker would be to risk tearing the country apart. – March 3, 2026
