THE Attorney-General’s Chambers has authorised the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to impose fines of RM10,000 each on comedian Harith Iskander and Facebook user Cecelia Yap.
In a statement released this evening, MCMC indicated that the fines will be enforced under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 based on the provisions before the amendment of the Act came into effect on Feb 11 this year.
The MCMC added that Meta, following a request by the commission, had removed the said content after determining that it violated Facebook's community guidelines.
Harith Iskander had posted on Facebook that his faith was disturbed upon encountering a menu item labeled “Ham Sap Coffee,” which included the term “ham.”
In reaction to his post, Yap allegedly made remarks deemed disrespectful towards Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
A total of 16 complaints were filed against both Harith and Yap regarding this issue.
"A request has also been made to close the Facebook accounts of both individuals. The request is currently under review and evaluation by Meta," the statement added. – March 5, 2025