KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — PAS vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar today said that any laws regulating the so-called “3R” (race, religion and royalty) remarks during the state elections must apply to all.
Despite party president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang and Kedah chief Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor already being investigated for racial remarks, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) treasurer said he hopes the coalition will be given a level playing field and not be disadvantaged by such laws.
“We hope to have a level playing field at the elections without other parties having an advantage over us with new laws in place. Laws that are enacted must apply to everyone or else it doesn’t work well in our society.
“If you want to make suggestions then we want to make some suggestions as well. Either way, we want the elections process to be a level playing field devoid of threats or actions that are intended to scare the public,” Ahmad said during a press conference after PN’s Professional Convention Malaysia which was also live-streamed.
Yesterday DAP’s Lim Kit Siang proposed that all political parties and candidates contesting in the upcoming state elections enter into an agreement not to exploit 3R-related issues.
He said the authorities should set up a mechanism to uncover and expose lies, falsehood, fake news and hate speech used during the campaign period for the state polls.
This comes as Sanusi was forced to apologise to Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah after allegedly disputing the Ruler’s prerogative to appoint the outgoing Selangor menteri besar Datuk Amirudin Shari.
Abdul Hadi and Sanusi were among the politicians currently being investigated for stoking racial flames with their remarks ahead of the six state elections next month.
Among others, Abdul Hadi has insisted on Malay political supremacy, while Sanusi has denied the legitimacy of Penang in addition to accusing non-Muslims complicit in bribery.
When asked about it, Ahmad said he would not comment on ongoing investigations involving party leaders.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issued a final warning to all parties to not exploit issues touching on the 3R which can split the country.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil subsequently said the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will set up a special unit to monitor and act against politicians who persist in doing so.
In May, an independent report found Islamist party PAS and its president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang to be the most strident in inciting ethnic-based narratives on social media in the lead-up to the 15th general election.
The report titled “Social Media monitoring of Malaysia’s 15th General Elections” said Abdul Hadi and his party were complicit to incitement by neither calling out nor restricting social media users from further spreading hate in relation to ethnic groups.
