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KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government on Monday (Aug 5) summoned Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – to its Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) over the removal of several posts on its social media sites where PM Anwar Ibrahim had expressed his condolences and paid tribute to the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
It also took issue with the suspension of a live broadcast on Facebook via the Malaysian state broadcaster’s account of a pro-Palestinian rally held in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday night.
In a statement on Monday, Malaysia’s PMO said it has also demanded an apology from the tech firm even as it wants several actions to be taken to rectify the situation, adding that it views Meta’s actions as “discriminatory, unjust, and a blatant suppression of free expression”.
“It is also seen as an affront to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people in their pursuit of justice and human rights,” read the statement.
“We also emphasised that the removal of these posts has deeply impacted the people of Malaysia and the global community, who are well aware of the suffering of the Palestinian people and the atrocities committed by the Zionist Israeli regime, as recorded in history.”
It stressed that Meta’s “unilateral decision” to censor the content on Mr Anwar’s accounts raises questions about the transparency of the firm’s content moderation policies.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil as well as chairman of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Mohamad Salim Fateh Din were present at the meeting, though it was not stated who had represented Meta.
In his social media posts that had been removed, Mr Anwar had written tributes for the late Mr Haniyeh, whom he had described as “a dear friend and a valiant advocate of his people”.
The posts were reportedly removed with the caption “dangerous individuals and organisations”.
Mr Haniyeh – who had been based in Qatar’s Doha since 2019 – was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran on Jul 31.
He was there to attend Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony a day earlier.
In May, Facebook also removed several posts related to media reports of Mr Anwar’s publicised meeting with Mr Haniyeh in Qatar, though these were later restored.
On Monday, Malaysia’s PMO also expressed its dismay over the suspension of the live broadcast on Facebook via the Berita RTM account, which was streaming the Palestinian Liberation Rally the night before.
The rally at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur – attended by thousands – was organised by the Malaysian government in support of the Palestinian cause. It was live-streamed by Berita RTM, a free-to-air Malaysian television news channel owned and operated by the public broadcasting station Radio Televisyen Malaysia.
“As a result, the Prime Minister’s Office has demanded several actions, including a detailed explanation of Meta’s decisions to rectify the matter, along with a public apology from the company. As promised during the meeting, Meta will be issuing a press statement shortly,” read the statement.
As of the time of writing, Meta has yet to issue any statement.
Mr Anwar has been a staunch and vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has defended Malaysia’s relationship with Hamas, which is considered to be a militant group by several quarters.
In the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza, which began after Hamas’ cross-border assault on Oct 7, he has voiced concerns about the reluctance of the United States and the West to apply pressure on Israel.
On Jul 1, Mr Anwar said that Malaysia was ready to cooperate with Indonesia to send peacekeeping forces to Gaza if given a mandate by the United Nations.
The war has killed over 39,000 people in Gaza, according to the local health ministry.
Last week, Malaysia introduced a new regulatory framework for all social media and internet messaging platforms with at least eight million registered users in the country to comply with.
These include Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok as well as Elon Musk’s X platform, among others.
Enforcement under the new class licence will begin from Jan 1 next year.
In details released by the MCMC, the licence is valid for one year and firms are required to apply for it annually.
Separately on Monday, Mr Fahmi – the Communications Minister – said the government is mulling developing its own social media application for its own citizens.
Mr Fahmi claimed that this is because some social media application providers are profiting off Malaysians but fail to ensure user safety.
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