Era Fm S Rm250 000 Compound Not Arbitrary Say Fahmi

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Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil has called on Malaysians to protect the country’s racial and religious diversity and respect each other.
KUALA LUMPUR: Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil says the RM250,000 compound issued to the operator of radio station Era FM after the circulation of a controversial video mocking the Hindu religion took into account that Maestra Broadcast Sdn Bhd was a company, not an individual.
He said the quantum of the compound issued to Maestra Broadcast took into consideration that the offending party was “a company that generates high revenue annually”.
He added that it was wrong to compare the present matter with the “Allah” socks case.
“KK Mart was charged under the Penal Code, a different law, and fined RM60,000. The case did not concern online content or involve a Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) licence holder,” he told reporters at a breaking of fast event hosted by his ministry for media practitioners at Angkasapuri yesterday.
He said no comparisons could be made with various other cases involving individuals, either, including comedian Harith Iskander and Facebook user Cecelia Yap, who were both recently issued RM10,000 compounds which the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said were “reasonable”.
He said Maestra Broadcast, a subsidiary of the Astro media group and the holder of an MCMC licence, was obliged to comply with all laws and guidelines in place.
“Unfortunately, the company allowed its radio station’s official TikTok account to upload content which provoked much public anger,” he said.
Fahmi also denied that MCMC had acted arbitrarily in issuing the compound.
“It secured the consent of a deputy public prosecutor from the AGC,” the minister said.
Under Section 243(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, MCMC may, with the public prosecutor’s written consent, offer to compound designated offences under the legislation for a stated sum of money.
Fahmi said no further action would be taken against Nabil Ahmad, Azad Jasmin, and Radin Amir Affendi Ahmad Aruani, the three Era FM radio hosts at the centre of the storm. The three have apologised for their actions.
“This is an incident that we all regret, but I believe we can all learn from it.
“We need to protect our racial and religious diversity. We need to respect each other,” the minister said. - FMT

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