In case it wasn’t entirely clear, the media authority wants you to know that it did not draw Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in clownface and carrying the Infinity Gauntlet for a poster banning the use of the #SiBodohKauDengarSini (Listen here, you idiot) hashtag.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission issued a statement today to clarify that it was not behind the satirical poster by Twitter account @Bawangmana that had its logo at the top. While it was apparent that the poster was taking a jab at the government amid widespread online reaction against restrictive food and beverage operating hours during the lockdown, the authority decided to take the opportunity to crack down on “false information” anyway.
“MCMC would like to inform everyone that we did not make a poster warning people to stop using the #SiBodohKauDengarSini hashtag on Twitter,” its statement said. “The poster, which has gone viral on social media, has made-up facts and consequences that they said would affect those who break the law. MCMC will continue to take appropriate measures to stop the spread of false information.”
The poster telling people it was a criminal offense to use the hashtag went up on Monday and has since gotten 200 retweets.
“It’s a crime when one shares or spreads this hashtag as it violates the laws of the country under Section 109 Muhyiddin Does Not Have The Majority 2021,” the poster said. “If found guilty, one could be fined RM35 million (US$8.6 million) or quarantined for up to a year.”
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The #SiBodohKauDengarSini hashtag went viral over the weekend after Twitter user @Yarafaee_ complained about the current lockdown restrictions on food and beverage businesses in Malaysia. In response to someone rubbishing the complaints and telling people to simply plan their mealtimes in advance, @Yarafaee reacted with “Si bodoh, kau dengar sini.”
She added: “With businesses only allowed to open from 11am to 8pm, all Malaysians will be ordering food within that time. Did you know that the foodpanda/grab app has lagged because of this? We don’t have time to cook when we come home from work because we’d have to go to work early the next day.”
Her response resonated with so many others. The hashtag has been used around 117,000 times.
Other stories to check out:
Muhyiddin’s celebrity-style visit to COVID-19 center spawns memes
The Communications Ministry wants to investigate its own Twitter account. Wonder what they’ll find.
