Senior citizen publisher earns wrath of cops, MCMC, JAKIM for linking holy Prophet to cronyism, nepotism
VETERAN author/publisher Ainon Muhammad @ Ainon Mohd has learned the hard way that there is limitation in her quest to expound knowledge – whether worldly or divine – on the social media.
This came about as a police grilling is in the cards after 13 police reports have been lodged against the 75-year-old founder of PTS Media Group Sdn Bhd for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad by linking the latter to nepotism and cronyism during his reign as the head of the Islamic state of Madniah.
Examples cited by Ainon in her seemingly routine knowledge sharing on her Facebook page included Sayidina Abu Bakar and Sayidina Umar as the Prophet’s fathers-in-law, and Sayidina Uthman and Sayidina Ali as his sons-in-law and cousins.
In her post that has since been deleted, Ainon had earlier stated that western democracy does not practise nepotism and cronyism. She ended her 44-word post by questioning whether nepotism and cronyism should also be practised in today’s era.
As it is, police investigations are underway following the first report which was lodged by a 34-year-old man at the Beranang police station in Kajang on Saturday (March 15), according to Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.
The case is being investigated under Section 298 of the Penal Code for actions that could incite racial and religious disharmony, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities.
Razarudin added that the case has also been referred to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to remove the post on the suspect’s Facebook account which could confuse readers of the post.
Aside from the cops and MCMC, Ainon had on yesterday (March 17) been subject to a ‘counselling’ session by JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) apart from been rendered ‘tongue lashing’ by both the Federal Territory Mufti Department and Selangor Mufti Department.
KENYATAAN MEDIA AINON MOHD
17 Mac 2025
Saya, Ainon Mohd, dengan penuh rasa hormat menerima teguran dan pandangan yang telah disampaikan oleh pihak Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) dalam pertemuan yang berlangsung hari ini. Saya juga akur dengan nasihat yang diberikan oleh Pejabat Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan dan Jabatan Mufti Negeri Selangor dalam perkara ini.
...See moreFollowing her JAKIM encounter, Ainon has pledged her commitment to the authorities to:
- Streamline and refine the publishing policy on social media;
- Refer to subject matter experts on sensitive issues related to the Prophet;
- Delete other social media content that may be considered sensitive; and
- Provide cooperation to the authorities on any issues that have arisen previously.
Commenting on the action against Ainon, human rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasim who has been critical about double standard practice of the Malaysian police took a swipe at Razarudin’s reiteration of “no compromise on any 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues”.
Siti Kasim
on Monday"“Once again, I emphasise that the police will not compromise on any 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues,” he said."
Only when it comes to purportedly insulting Islam. Not others. We see you Polis Diraja Malaysia ( Royal Malaysia Police ) .... We are not blind.
— with Siti Kasim.
“Only when it comes to purportedly insulting Islam. Not others. We see you Polis Diraja Malaysia (Royal Malaysia Police) … We are not blind,” she penned on her Facebook page.
Interestingly, a digital creator who described Ainon’s writings as “thought provoking, some were enlightening and some I don’t quite agree with” suggested that Ainon should contemplate expressing her inner thoughts in English.
“For me, if you want to write about religion and the apostles, especially from a perspective that is ‘outside the norm’, it might be better to write it in English and have the book marketed by a publisher outside Malaysia,” reckoned Asrul Muzaffar (@asrulmm) on X.
#PendapatPalatao Puan Ainon Mohd used to be my Facebook friend before she removed me for unknown reasons. I like her writings... some were thought provoking, some were enlightening + some I don't quite agree with.
Pada akulah, kalau nak tulis perihal agama dan rasul terutama… Show more
“Using a pseudonym is also okay. Period.” – March 18, 2025
Main image credit: Syihabudin Ahmad/YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment