PUTRAJAYA, April 6 — The e-Sepakat system detected a total of 47 issues related to the 3R (religion, race and royalty) in the first quarter of this year, compared to 21 issues in the same period last year, said National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.
In a statement today, Aaron said issues involving religion, statements mixed with hatred and racism showed an increase of 123 per cent.
He said 1,454 3R-related contents were taken down from social media platforms from January to March 31, 2024, identified by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as containing racial hate speech (588 cases), religious hate speech (727) and royal institutional hate speech (139).
As for the statistics on reports related to the issue of racial clashes recorded by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), Aaron said a total of 162 cases were recorded nationwide with the highest cases in Johor with 53 cases, Selangor (34 cases) and Penang (23 cases).
“Although the Ministry of National Unity does not have special powers or provisions to take legal action, the ministry through the Department of National Unity and National Integration (JPNIN) plays an important role in helping to manage unity issues.
“Among the unity issue management mechanism implemented by JPNIN is the detection and monitoring of unity issues at the grassroots level through the e-Sepakat system,” he said.
The e-Sepakat system is the main data collection centre for the management of unity issues as a working mechanism for detecting, monitoring and reporting the issue digitally.
Aaron said that as a country with diverse backgrounds, respect and tolerance should be at a high level and should be appreciated by every strata of society.
He said, understanding is the key to an acceptance that will remove all annoyances.
“Therefore, it is imperative for us to understand the culture, language, religion and way of life of each race in this country. When we understand each other, then the space for mutual acceptance and tolerance will open wider and the gap between races can be reduced,” he said, adding that the move could indirectly foster a spirit of unity in society. — Bernama
