KUALA LUMPUR: PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli’s defamatory statements against Tabung Haji two years ago, is solid evidence of why Malaysia needs laws to punish people who create and spread fake news.
Kuala Selangor Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Dr Irmohizam Ibrahim said, the claims by Rafizi had sparked panic among the people and even affected a number of TH depositors.
He said, if the Anti-Fake News Bill 2018 is not passed, similar incidents could occur in the future, thus bringing a negative impact on the people and jeopardise the nation’s stability.
Irmohizam cited an article titled ‘Analisa Kewangan Tabung Haji 2009- 2015’ (Tabung Haji Financial Analysis 2009-2015) published on a Facebook account belonging to the Pandan MP in 2016, and said it caused panic and led to a loss of confidence in TH.
“It led to 3,954 TH depositors, including people in my constituency, closing down their accounts.
“This also led to 3,105 people losing their qualification to perform the haj, as well as losing out their turn to undergo the pilgrimage.
“TH withdrawal activities also saw huge increase with RM41 million on Feb 10 (a day after the article was published), RM49.8 million (Feb 11), RM27.9 million (Feb 12), compared to RM8 million on Feb 9 (a day before the article was published).
“However, he himself (referring to Rafizi) did not close down his TH account. His savings stood at RM464,000 with a dividend of RM37,15 from TH,” he said while debating the Anti Fake News Bill at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Irmohizam said as the spread of fake news and culture of citizen journalism rises, the implementation of proper legislation could help curb the problem.
“Fake news problem is not something to be taken lightly as it could be critical when certain people use it in order to achieve certain goals.
“It becomes more difficult when we take into the account the culture of citizen journalism, where some people immediately share any news they received without checking its authenticity.
“The advancement of smart phones have also made the spread of fake news easier.
“Therefore, there is a need for the Bill to be passed as soon as possible in order to safeguard the peace and harmony in the country,” he said, adding that he believed those who were against the move to implement the Bill were the very ones spreading fake news.
During the debate, Irmohizam also took a swipe at Gombak Member of Parliament, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, whom he claimed had accused him on commenting on the Ijok land scandal at the behest of Tan Sri Noh Omar, who is Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister.
“The Tanjung Karang MP (Noh) never asked me to do so, but it was based on my own initiative as the Kuala Selangor MP, who is fighting for the rights of the people and in my constituency.”
* Reports by MOHD ANWAR PATHO ROHMAN, AHMAD SUHAEL ADNAN, NOR AIN MOHAMED RADHI AND SITI NUR MAS ERAH AMRAN