KUALA LUMPUR: An employee of a major car distributor in Malaysia was suspended today for making an online comment deemed disrespectful towards fireman Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, who died last night from injuries sustained during the Seafield temple riots last month.
Honda distributor Sri Utama Auto Sdn Bhd (Honda Sri Utama Auto) instantly suspended the female staff member following an initial investigation into her online message which was posted in the comments section of a Facebook page at 1.10am this morning.
Its director, Wong Chee Keong, said the suspension was made to facilitate an internal probe and stressed that the company is ready to take stern action against the employee over the incident.
“We sincerely apologise for the insensitive comment made by our staff member on the sad passing of fireman Adib.
“We do not condone, nor will we tolerate such behaviour, online or offline.
“Our deepest condolences to the fireman’s family,” Wong said in a statement issued today.
Meanwhile, Honda Malaysia said on its Facebook page that a memo has been circulated to all its local distributors to advise staff members to conduct themselves in a way which reflects well on the company.
The inflammatory comment by the Honda employee – which was posted during a Facebook live stream of a press conference by Minister of Housing and Local Government Zuraida Kamaruddin, who announced Adib’s death last night – was instantly and widely condemned by netizens.
The insensitive comment read: “(Adib’s death) wasn’t the government’s failure… It was your God’s failure to heal him.”
Several outraged social media users conducted a search on the commenter’s background, which led to the discovery of her employment with Honda Sri Utama Auto. The company’s Facebook page was soon besieged by netizens venting their anger over their staff member’s post.