MCMC probes ‘Lim Sian See’ over post on budget speech

Political commentator Lim Sian See, the pseudonym of former BN communications adviser Eric See-To, has come under investigation by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission over a Facebook post on the prime minister’s 2027 budget speech on Friday.

An MCMC statement said the content concerned the use of the word “lighad”, which refers to a Quranic verse, in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s budget speech yesterday.

“The content allegedly mocked a Quranic verse, causing concern among the public,” MCMC said in a statement today.

The statement did not name the person under investigation. However, Lim was named by Hisyamuddin Ghazali (known as Syam Ghaz), the head of J-Kom, the community communications department in a Facebook post.

MCMC said it had recorded a statement and seized a mobile phone and an eSIM for forensic examination.

The MCMC statement said freedom of expression on social media must be exercised responsibly, with respect for religious sensitivities and the need to preserve harmony in a multiracial and multireligious society.

In a separate Facebook posting, See-To/Lim said that he was not the one who included the Quranic verse. “Another party added it alongside a screenshot of my comment,” he wrote. He said he would lodge a police report against those who altered the image by adding the verse to his post.

“What ought to be investigated is the party that created and disseminated that composite image, specifically whether the presentation misled the public regarding the actual context of my comment,” he wrote. “It is unacceptable for others to arrange images and alter the context, only for me to face accusations based on their arrangement.”