THE much-contested Al Jazeera documentary on migrants has prompted police to begin an investigation into an alleged attempt by the news agency to tarnish Malaysia’s image, Bernama reported.
Bukit Aman CID deputy director (investigation/legal) DCP Mior Faridalathrash Wahid was quoted as saying that the department is investigating the matter following a report made by the Immigration Department at the Precinct 7 police station in Putrajaya.
“We have opened investigation papers under Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” he told Bernama.
Investigations will be carried out by the Kuala Lumpur police contingent.
Mior Faridalathrash said the police also received a report on a similar issue by a woman in Putrajaya around 9am yesterday.
Al Jazeera recently released a 26-minute documentary titled “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown” that criticised Malaysia in its handling of illegal immigrants during the movement control order to curb Covid-19 transmission.
Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador was quoted as saying that the Al Jazeera documentary was inaccurate and further investigations were under way.
Yesterday, senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob called for Al Jazeera to apologise “to Malaysians for posting false and misleading information”.
In his briefing yesterday, he said: “As an international media organisation, Al Jazeera should stop screening the documentary.”
He also said Al Jazeera “lied by claiming that children of illegal immigrants had been treated cruelly, including being taken to the immigration detention depots in handcuffs”. – July 7, 2020
