Avoid 3R issues, inappropriate language, Teo tells new J-Kom chief

PETALING JAYA: Public officials, including the new community communications department (J-Kom) director-general, must show restraint in the use of inappropriate language and steer clear of issues related to race, religion, and royalty (3R), says deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching.

Teo was asked to comment on criticism of Hisyamuddin Ghazali, who allegedly used a racial slur against two government critics in a social media post.

“He has just been appointed, but my advice is that we should not use inappropriate language and we must avoid all 3R issues, not only during election periods but at all times.

“This should be a practice that is strongly encouraged and consistently upheld,” she was quoted as saying to reporters after attending an event in Putrajaya today.

Teo also said she had yet to meet Hisyamuddin and was unsure of whether communications minister Fahmi Fadzil had done so.

“I spent the weekend in Johor, so I have not met him yet,” she said.

Hisyamuddin was appointed to the post on June 8, replacing Ismail Yusop.

He allegedly described businessman Albert Tei and social media influencer Eric See-To as “Cina sesat” (misguided Chinese) in a Facebook post that was later amended. He also allegedly described them as “opposition lackeys”, claiming they had continuously attacked Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Tei entered the limelight 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.