Brickbats again for new J-Kom chief, this time over Rohingya

PETALING JAYA: The new head of the community communications department (J-Kom), Hisyamuddin Ghazali, has drawn brickbats once again, this time over a call for Malaysians to “keep an eye on the Rohingya”.

Former Klang MP Charles Santiago accused Hisyamuddin of making the Rohingya a public target when the refugee community was already vulnerable here in Malaysia.

The DAP man maintained that J-Kom should be used to build national unity, not go after marginalised communities.

“The Rohingya are not criminals. They are not a threat by virtue of identity. They are a stateless people who survived genocide and persecution. Singling them out is scapegoating.

“Words from officials don’t exist in a vacuum. In a climate already thick with anti-Rohingya rhetoric, statements like this license prejudice, harassment, vigilantism and collective suspicion,” Santiago said in a Twitter post.

“History is consistent on this: dehumanisation rarely begins with mobs but with officials who choose their words carelessly or deliberately. So stop the hate speech now.”

Yesterday, Hisyamuddin came 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 was appointed J-Kom chief on Monday, becoming the fourth person to head the department since the Anwar Ibrahim administration took office in November 2022.

J-Kom, which comes under the communications ministry, is responsible for coordinating government communications and public engagement efforts.