Letter to Editor
I ALMOST fell off my chair when I read news reports that Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil asked former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to look into the mirror because the latter was allegedly “unreliable”.
Of all people, Fahmi should be the last to take the moral high ground. Has he recently taken a good honest look at himself before asking others to do the same?
This is the same Fahmi, the former PKR communications director who had strongly championed free speech but now threatened TikTok users with the presence of police radio cars at their homes if the latter’s views went against those of the Madani government.
Does he read the comments left by social media users expressing their utter disappointment and disgust with his volte-face and how the so-called reformist has turned into the very beast he had criticised in the past?
Isn’t this the Fahmi who got all riled up over a Berita Harian report quoting analysts about a possible hike in the overnight policy rate (OPR) and summoned the editors of the Malay daily in what was tantamount to media intimidation? And wasn’t the Berita Harian report proven accurate as the OPR was eventually hiked?
How about when Fahmi got all hot under the collar with platforms like TikTok, Telegram and Meta? Soon after taking office last December, Fahmi revealed that TikTok had removed 1,126 clips upon complaints by the government.
Or his threats of action against Telegram and Meta – the owners of Facebook, Instagram and Threads – without specifics on the alleged breach with regard to undesirable content? Does Fahmi harbour hopes of becoming Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief under Hitler?
Moreover, speaking of hated political figures, wasn’t one of Fahmi’s most popular social media posts made during last year’s general election campaigning where he wrote that one vote for former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin (Sungai Buloh candidate) equaled one vote for Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (the unpopular UMNO president).
And who has become a big supporter of Zahid now? Fahmi!
So please, Fahmi. Before you preach from the bully pulpit, do take a good look at yourself first.
Who is the one who’s unreliable here? Who’s the pseudo-reformer who has now shown his true colours? Perhaps Fahmi does need a mirror to take a long hard look at himself before answering this question. – July 14, 2023
Julian Hng Chee Yong
Butterworth, Penang
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
