MCMC: Re-posting offensive material an offence too

MCMC Strategic Communications Director Sheikh Raffie Abd Rahman advised all Malaysians to stop forwarding or sharing something offensive, eventhough they were at the same time disagreeing with its contents.

Sheik Raffie was commenting on the photograph recently posted by controversial sex bloggers ‘Alvivi’ in a Ramadan greeting on Facebook which featured a non-halal dish.

“Please do not forward all these. As long as the public keep sharing, it’s not going to help the situation. Yes, eventhough you are disagreeing with the contents,” Sheik Raffie told Astro AWANI.

Sheikh said that the regulators are taking stern action in regards to the bloggers and asked for speculations to stop and let MCMC 'do our jobs'.

“Remember that anything that you see which may be offensive to you, you should report it to the owner of the social network for example. Make sure you do that.”

“Do not forward these things and continue to comment on them. This can be deemed as improper use of network as well. We have to be responsible,” he said.

Yesterday, ‘Alvivi’, the nickname used by Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, who are 25 and 24 respectively, turned themselves in to be investigated by the MCMC.

They arrived at the MCMC offices in the city at about 10.45am and were still being questioned into the late yesterday afternoon.

The couple was being probed under Section 233 of the MCMC act, which revolves around the ‘improper use of network facilities or network service’.

The couple could be jailed up to one year and fined up to RM50,000, if found guilty under the Section.

Last Friday, 'Alvivi' uploaded a photo on their Facebook page of them enjoying a non-halal meal of "bak kut teh" (a pork dish). The picture contained the Ramadan greeting: "Selamat Berbuka Puasa with bak kut teh… fragrant, delicious and appetising". The "halal" logo was also sported on the photo.

The posting created a storm as netizens and the public criticised their lack of sensitivity in multi-cultural Malaysia, though the couple did also garnered some support.

While initially insisting that it was just a joke, the couple have since apologised for their actions, admitting on Twitter that it was the "stupidest stunt" they have done.

Facebook have also reportedly closed down their page permanently due to the ‘negative feedback’ on the posting.