PETALING JAYA: There has been a 123% spike in 3R cases relating to race, religion and royalty reported to the national unity ministry over the first quarter of this year, said its minister, Aaron Ago Dagang.
Aaron said there were 47 such cases recorded from January to March, mainly involving religious issues, hate speech, and racially charged speech, reported to the ministry’s e-Sepakat system.
Twenty-one such cases were reported during the same period last year, he said in a statement today.
The e-Sepakat system is a central data gathering system rolled out by the national unity and integration department to track, monitor and report 3R cases online.
Additionally, Aaron said that according to police statistics, there were 162 cases of racially charged speeches online in the first quarter of this year.
He said Johor had the most cases at 53, followed by Selangor (34) and Penang (23).
He said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had removed 1,454 online content related to 3R issues in the first quarter of this year.
Apart from 727 online content related to religious issues, there were 588 online content related to racially charged speeches, and 139 hate speeches involving the royal institution.
“As a country with a diverse makeup, there has to be a high degree of respect and tolerance, which must be embraced by all segments of society at all levels,” he said.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said no one, including those from political parties, will be spared for playing up sensitive 3R issues.
Action would be taken, no matter who the person is, and investigations would be carried out and arrests made if required.
In a Bernama report, he said those who play up such issues, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, will have to serve punishment for challenging the law.
