Fahmi Fadzil Warns Against Doxxing And Online Harassment

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates.

---

Communications minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil warned the public against online harassment and doxxing after a former Free Malaysia Today (FMT) journalist recently became a victim of both.

According to Malay Mail, Fahmi said that if the authorities have received reports or complaints, they reserve the right to investigate the matter.

“I will continue championing the rights and freedom of press to do their duties,” he said.

“And I would also like to point out that in Rex Tan’s case, it (the clip) did not come from a news organisation, but was circulated by a member of the public instead,” Fahmi added.

Fahmi stated that individuals who deliberately attempted to promote hatred and strife should also be looked into, pointing out that the subtitles added to the widely shared video misrepresented the journalist’s real question and created a false impression.

The minister of communications added that the act of publicly exposing personal information, including details involving family members online, or doxxing, is a serious offence under Section 507 of the Penal Code.

Rex Tan was arrested and eventually released

The FMT reporter, Rex Tan, had asked a controversial question at a public lecture (at the 1 hour, 10 minute mark) on Gaza last week which many interpreted as having racially sensitive overtones, thus sparking major public backlash.

Many interpreted his question as having racially sensitive undertones, especially comparisons involving Malaysia’s Chinese ethnic community which sparked public backlash.

He was consequently arrested at 12.45am on 17 January after being summoned to the Dang Wangi police headquarters. His lawyer, Rajsurian Pillai, said his client was detained under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 505(c) of the Penal Code, The Star reported.

Tan was later released in the afternoon on the same day, although Rajsurian explained that police had initially requested a four-day remand.

What did Tan ask at the lecture?

The public lecture, titled “Gaza Exposes the Complicity of International Actors”, featured British politician George Galloway.

Tan asked Galloway a question that allegedly referenced a historical comparison between Palestine and racial politics in Malaysia.

The core phrasing of his question was somewhere along the lines of whether there was a parallel between the “Palestine problem” and what he described as the “Chinese problem in Malaya”, drawing on a historical novel’s observation about colonial-era tensions and whether those parallels reflected an “exclusive way of seeing ourselves and the people around us”.

The book he referenced is by author Han Suyin, suggesting that it drew parallels between struggles in Palestine and historical racial issues in Malaysia.

Tan then used this to question if there was a broader similarity in how communities see each other, implying that some pro-Palestinian sentiment in Malaysia might co-exist with exclusionary or nationalistic views towards ethnic minorities.

He later apologised, saying his question was poorly constructed and that he failed to consider context and sensitivity, and that he did not literally equate the lived experience of Chinese Malaysians today to that of Palestinians under occupation.

---

Share your thoughts with us via TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Threads.

Fahmi Fadzil Warns Against Doxxing And Online Harassment
Entertainment Flash Report