CYBERJAYA: Comedian Harith Iskander and woman named Cecelia Yap who made a joke online about a “ham and cheese sandwich” deemed insensitive by certain Muslims will be fined and are at risk of having their Facebook accounts closed.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it has received approval from the Attorney General’s Chambers to impose a fine of RM10,000 on each of the two for uploading offensive content and comments involving Islam on Facebook on January 18.
“The fines will be imposed on Harith Iskander and Cecelia Yap under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, based on the provisions of the Act before the amendments that came into effect on February 11, 2025,” MCMC said in a statement this evening.
It added that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has removed the contentious content at its request, for violating the social network’s community guidelines.
“Additionally, a request has been made to close the Facebook accounts of the two individuals involved. This request is currently under review by Meta,” MCMC said.
The commission also said it summoned senior management from Astro yesterday to record statements from parties involved in the recent widely criticised antics of Era FM hosts about Hinduism that had been previously shared on its TikTok account before it was subsequently taken down.
MCMC said it plans to submit its investigations to the deputy public prosecutor tomorrow for further action.
“A Notice of Intent for License Suspension has also been issued to the licensee operating the ERA FM radio station.
“The licensee has been given 30 days to provide feedback before any decisions are made,” it added.
