New J-Kom chief under fire over racial slur against govt critics

PETALING JAYA: Hisyamuddin Ghazali, the new head of the community communications department (J-Kom), has come under fire for allegedly using a racial slur against two government critics, businessman Albert Tei and social media influencer Eric See-To in a social media post.

Hisyamuddin was alleged to have described them as “Cina sesat” (misguided Chinese) in a Facebook post that was later amended. He is also alleged to have described Tei and See-To as “opposition lackeys”, claiming they had continuously attacked Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Tei came into prominence in recent months as an alleged whistleblower over a Sabah mining deal, while See-To, a former Barisan Nasional communications deputy director, was the person behind the Lim Sian See social media account that backed former prime minister Najib Razak.

Hisyamuddin was criticised by Perikatan Nasional information chief Annuar Musa for making remarks that were unnecessarily racially charged.

“The J-Kom director-general must set a good example as a civil servant. He should not insult others based on their race,” said Annuar, a former communications and multimedia minister.

As J-Kom is a government department responsible for explaining government policies, it should not be “acting emotionally on social media”, he said in a Facebook post. “We do not need extreme hatred, especially in the name of race or ethnicity in this country. Islam rejects racism and tribalism”.

See-To also responded in a Facebook post and tagged DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook, asking whether Hisyamuddin’s label also applied to Loke. “This is from your new J-Kom chief. Paid using public funds, rakyat’s money – including from Chinese taxpayers. What do DAP and PKR have to say?” he said.