KUALA LUMPUR – The website of Agenzia Nova, the Italian news agency that labelled Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s "first full-blown homosexual” prime minister, is curiously inaccessible to many netizens here.
A check by The Vibes revealed that a dozen mobile broadband and internet users were unable to read its articles today.
This comes after opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (Larut-PN) urged Anwar to take stern action against international media companies who spread “disrespectful” news about the latter’s sexual orientation.
Check by The Vibes also found that the article, titled “First full-blown Homosexual Elected Prime Minister in an Islamic (Nation)” published on November 24 after Anwar assumed office, could be viewed with the use of a virtual private network, an online service that helps protect user privacy and circumvent website blockades.
However, it was not immediately clear whether access to the site was deliberately blocked off to Malaysians and users from other countries.
The Vibes has also reached out to the Communications and Digital Ministry for comment on the matter, but has yet to receive a response.
The lack of accessibility was noticed by The Vibes at 3pm today, shortly after Hamzah issued the sarcastic remark to Anwar, and it was still unavailable for viewing at press time (8pm).
Anwar was imprisoned over sodomy charges in 1998 and again in 2015. He was subsequently granted a royal pardon and released from prison in 2018.
Hamzah’s speech – made while debating the confidence vote for Anwar today – was interrupted at multiple points by government MPs, including R.S.N. Rayer (Jelutong-PH) who loudly requested for the former to retract his “impolite and rude” assertions.
In response, Hamzah appeared to double down on his stand, saying: “(Anwar) should not only take action against those in the country. As a trading nation, Malaysia needs to present a consistent image.”
Later on, Hamzah said that while the Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had advocated freedom of speech in the media during its 15th general election (GE15) campaign, the situation now seems to have taken a turn.
Meanwhile, Anwar's confidence vote was passed by MPs in the Dewan Rakyat through a voice vote.
Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul called for a vote just before 6.15pm, to which MPs in the House replied in chorus, “Setuju (agree).”
With this, Anwar has secured the mandate from MPs to lead the unity government formed after the 15th general election results showed a hung Parliament. – The Vibes, December 19, 2022
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