JAKIM to play censorship role in ‘deviant’ Islam

Who defines ‘deviant’?

The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) will now start censoring what it considers ‘deviant’ Islam through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), according to the minister of communications and digital Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil. State religious councils are also able to censor Islamic material through the MCMC.

Fahmi said at the Eco Park launch that “We will not only block the spread but also take action against those involved. So that’s why we always provide reminders to avoid spreading slanderous material that involve the three Rs (race, religion and royalty), including deviant teachings.”

This is the most far-reaching censorship mechanism that has ever been set up by the government, since the advent of the internet in the early 1990s. The former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed pledged when the Malaysian Multimedia Corridor was launched, there would be no censorship of the internet.

Now the government has given itself the power not only to take down material it defines as inappropriate and ‘deviant’, by its own determination of definition, where JAKIM will make undefined decisions upon what is deviant Islamic teaching. This is coming from a government that has supported the ban on non-Muslims using the word ‘Allah’, and raids to confiscate rainbow-coloured Swatches in stores last week.

In an interview with the director general of JAKIM a couple of months ago, the writer asked what JAKIM is doing to curb extremist elements within JAKIM itself. Unfortunately the DG politely refused to answer this question. This question if answered would have given some context into how ‘deviant’ will be defined by JAKIM.

The new measure is much more far reaching than Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), as no avenues of appeal have been set up, and there is no legislation from parliament enabling the new censorship regime.

The institutionalization of Islam in Malaysia is now even more draconian. For many years, Muslims wanting to publicly discuss Islam in forums require a license from state Islamic authorities. The kutibah or Friday sermons in mosques must read the state prepared texts, rather than prepare texts directly relevant to their immediate communities. This requirement has directly politicized Islam in Malaysia.

In Madani Malaysia, the word of the state is now above the words of the Al Quran and Hadiths. There can now only be a state sanctioned interpretation.  

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