PM office calls out Meta for removing Anwar's IG post with Hamas leader

Prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and the Malaysia Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has called out Meta for taking down his Instagram posts. 

In a statement on Facebook, the prime minister said that it makes no sense when a post honouring a fighter who worked to liberate his country from tyranny and suffering is considered dangerous. 

The prime minister added a warning for Meta, telling it to not be a pacifier and a tool of Israel's tyrannical Zionist regime. 

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In the screenshots attached to the statement, it revealed that Meta removed Anwar's posts because he had "shared or sent symbols, praise or support of people and organisations that Meta defines as dangerous, or followed them."

The deleted posts were posts of Anwar showing his support for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. 

Similarly, the PMO released a statement on X saying that it "condemned the actions of the Instagram platform provider Meta, which took down the post of prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's meeting with the leader of Hamas in Doha, Qatar last May." 

It added that Meta's action "clearly shows discrimination against the situation in Palestine and the country's leaders. Therefore, we demand an explanation and urge Meta to apologise." 

The deleted post was a photo of Anwar shaking the hands of the late Hamas leader and Palestinian politician Ismail Haniyeh when he visited Qatar. 

In the same post, the prime minister affirmed that Malaysia would continue to commit to play its role at the international level to stop the attack on Rafah and will mobilise more agile efforts to help the victims of the Gaza war in areas such as humanitarian aid, medicine and education. 

Anwar added that Malaysia appreciates the willingness of Hamas to release prisoners and urged Israel to stop the massacre of Palestinians, to release all Palestinian prisoners and to agree to a peace plan. 

Photo courtesy of Anwar Ibrahim/Faceboo

Earlier this week, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said he had met with officials from Meta, Google, TikTok and Tencent to update them on the new social media regulations and framework, as well as discuss online security and potential collaborations to combat illegal activities online. 

The minister reportedly said platforms run by Meta - Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - boast high compliance rates in Malaysia, ranging from 79% to 88% and that a bulk of takedown requests by his ministry (87%) were on Facebook. 

This comes after the Malaysian communications and multimedia commission (MCMC) revealed that all social media services and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a class license beginning 1 August. 

According to the MCMC, failure to obtain a class licence under the communications and multimedia act 1998 after the effective date would be considered an offence. It will come into effect on 1 January 2025. 

Photo courtesy of Anwar Ibrahim/Instagram

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