KUALA LUMPUR: Meta's decision to remove several of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's posts on the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was made at the highest level, not by its Asia regional team, says Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the Asia regional team was unclear about the reasons behind the decision.
"Up to noon, Meta has not informed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (on the reasons for the decision), but in discussions with its Asia regional officials, they did not indicate that this action came from them.
"It's likely that this decision was made at a higher level, possibly from a different rank. We will seek confirmation.
"This is very disappointing. We need to get clarity before considering further action. Such occurrences should not happen," Fahmi said after attending Friday prayers with Anwar at Masjid Negara here today.
He added that the government will take action against Meta once an explanation was given.
A meeting between Meta and the government was expected next week.
"We are considering our options. We need an explanation from Meta first because its regional officials are very confused about this. I do not blame them.
"A Meta delegation will be arriving next week, and we will wait until they arrive."
He said the decision to remove several posts related to the Hamas leader also affected Perikatan Nasional's Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shari.
Yesterday, Anwar slammed Meta for removing more of his posts on Haniyeh, saying it was "unreasonable".
Anwar's posts conveying his condolences to Hamas official Dr Basem Naim over Haniyeh's death were removed from Meta-owned platforms Facebook and Instagram.
On Instagram, the posts were removed as they were claimed to have contained "dangerous individuals and organisations".
A notification from Facebook said Anwar's posts were removed as they had elements that praised or supported people or organisations that had been defined as dangerous.