Fahmi Fadzil
Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil | |
|---|---|
| أحمد فهمي محمد فاضل | |
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| Minister of Communications | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2023 | |
| Monarchs | Abdullah (2022–2024) Ibrahim (since 2024) |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Deputy | Teo Nie Ching |
| Preceded by | Himself (Minister of Communications and Digital) |
| Constituency | Lembah Pantai |
| Minister of Communications and Digital | |
| In office 3 December 2022 – 12 December 2023 | |
| Monarch | Abdullah |
| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Deputy | Teo Nie Ching |
| Preceded by | Annuar Musa (Minister of Communications and Multimedia) |
| Succeeded by | Himself (Minister of Communications) Gobind Singh Deo (Minister of Digital) |
| Constituency | Lembah Pantai |
| Information Chief of the People's Justice Party | |
| Assumed office 20 July 2022 | |
| President | Anwar Ibrahim |
| Deputy | Chua Wei Kiat Razeef Rakimin |
| Preceded by | Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin |
| President of the Kuala Lumpur City F.C. | |
| Assumed office 9 June 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Shahidan Kassim |
| Communications Director of the People's Justice Party | |
| In office 11 September 2013 – 20 July 2022 | |
| President | Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (2013–2018) Anwar Ibrahim (2018–2022) |
| Preceded by | Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad |
| Succeeded by | Lee Chean Chung |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Lembah Pantai | |
| Assumed office 9 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Nurul Izzah Anwar (PR–PKR) |
| Majority | 5,598 (2018) 13,912 (2022) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ahmad Fahmi bin Mohamed Fadzil 4 February 1981 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Citizenship |  Malaysia |
| Political party |  People's Justice Party (PKR) (since 2010) |
| Other political affiliations | Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2010–2015)  Pakatan Harapan (PH) (since 2015) |
| Spouse | Azrina Puteri Mohamed Mahyuddin |
| Alma mater | Purdue University |
| Occupation | |
| Website | fahmifadzil |
| Fahmi Fadzil on Facebook Fahmi Fadzil on Parliament of Malaysia | |
Ahmad Fahmi bin Mohamed Fadzil (Jawi: أحمد فهمي بن محمد فاضل; born 4 February 1981[1]) is a Malaysian politician, former actor and writer who has served as the Minister of Communications in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since December 2023.[2]
He was previously Minister of Communications and Digital prior to the 2023 cabinet reshuffle and has been Lembah Pantai MP since May 2018.[3]
He is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the PH coalition and the government spokesperson. He has also been PKR Information Chief since July 2022 and was previously PKR Communications Director from September 2013 to July 2022.[4]
Family
[edit]He is second of three sons born to Datuk Fadzil Yunus, a former director-general of the Felda group of companies [5] and Datin Fauziah Ramly, who was a senior civil servant.[6]
His maternal grandmother Hawa Musa was an Umno Supreme Council member and head of KL Wanita Umno in the 1960s.[7]
Fahmi has a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (BSChE) from Purdue University, Indiana, USA.[8] His younger brother Fikri is a singer-songwriter who performs and records under the Bayangan moniker.[9]
Fahmi is married to Azrina Puteri Mohamed Mahyuddin, known as Myra. They have two sons.[10]
Career
[edit]Prior to formally joining PKR in 2010, Fahmi was a writer, actor[11] and an award-winning theatre performer. He appeared in shows such as the 2006 TV series Gol & Gincu (Goalpost and Lipsticks)[12] and hosted the interview program The Fairly Current Show.[13]
He was also involved in social activism, joining the Taman Medan Community Arts Project in 2012. The project focused on addressing racial tensions among young people through performing and visual arts.
Political career
[edit]He began his political career by serving as secretary to Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar. After her victory in the 2013 general election, he also assumed the role of PKR Communications Director and began writing a column for The Star called On The Way.
In 2018, Fahmi was chosen as the candidate to succeed Nurul Izzah as the party's candidate in the Lembah Pantai constituency while Nurul Izzah was moved to the PKR stronghold of Permatang Pauh.[14] He subsequently won the seat with a 5,598 vote majority as PKR became the largest party in Parliament in the aftermath of GE14.[15]
In the 15th General Election, Fahmi successfully defended his seat in Lembah Pantai with a larger majority of 13,912 votes defeating candidates from Umno, PAS and Pejuang.[16]
Minister of Communications and Digital
[edit]Soon after the formation of the unity government led by Anwar Ibrahim, Fahmi was appointed the new Minister of Communications and Digital.
He announced that he hoped to help usher in a digital golden age by improving infrastructure, securing online data and bringing in investments.[17]
He also said that the administration had no intention of curbing freedom of expression and free speech, but that it drew the line at spreading disinformation, defamation and online hate speech.
In his first year as Minister of Communications and Digital, there were a number of flashpoint incidents. The government was accused of blocking a number of news portals and blogs, including MalaysiaNow, Utusan TV and Malaysia Today. Access to all were swiftly restored.[18][19]
Fahmi faced criticism after questioning the findings of a survey on the government's first 100 days and accused some social media platforms of facilitating the promotion of fake news.[20]
In July 2023, the Good Vibes Festival in Sepang was cancelled by the government after the member of The 1975 rock group Matty Healy condemned the country's anti-LGBT laws and kissed bandmate Ross MacDonald during the band's performance.
The Ministry of Communications and Digital issued an immediate cancellation directive that forced the three-day festival to shut down, saying it underlined its unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule or contravene Malaysian laws.[21]
On 30 July 2023, a picture of Fahmi speaking at a mosque went viral, with the caption claiming he was delivering a political speech.
However, Fahmi later clarified that he was simply responding to a question about the Good Vibes cancellation.[22]
In December 2023, as part of the Cabinet reshuffle, the Communications and Digital Ministry were split into two with Fahmi remaining as Communications Minister while Gobind Singh Deo took over at the helm of the newly formed Digital Ministry.[23]
Fahmi was also appointed Cabinet spokesperson, tasked with speaking to the media, particularly after weekly Cabinet meetings if the prime minister was unable to attend.[24]
Communications Minister
[edit]In February 2024, he launched a new code of ethics for journalists, replacing the previous code that was established some 35 years previously.[25]
It included eight key ethical points, including that journalists must be responsible, transparent, fair in disseminating information, not influenced by personal interests, deliver legitimate information, respect the privacy and confidentiality of their sources, understand the laws governing the media, and prioritise their journalistic skills.
In May 2024, Malaysia was ranked 107th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index Report published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a drop of 34 places compared to the previous year.[26]
Fahmi admitted that being ranked 107 was unsatisfactory but pointed out in 2021 under the premiership of Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia was on the 119th rung while in 2022, the country was ranked 113th during Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s tenure.
He added that not one journalist had been arrested nor brought to court ever since the administration took over and that he was committed to defending press freedoms.[27]
On July 27, 2024, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that all social media and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for an Applications Service Providers Class [ASP(C)] Licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) starting Jan 1, 2025.[28]
In doing so, Fahmi emphasised that over 90% of complaints made to the MCMC concerned scams, internet trafficking, sexual abuse material, grooming, illegal drug sales, access to weapons and the spread of terrorist ideology and hate speech.[29]
In December 2024, he drafted changes to the Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act saying that it would enhance Malaysians’ freedom of speech partly by clarifying overly broad provisions.[30]
He said that under the amendments, parodies and satirical content would not be criminalised.[31][32]
Election results
[edit]| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | P121 Lembah Pantai | Fahmi Fadzil (PKR) | 33,313 | 50.24% | Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin (UMNO) | 27,715 | 41.80% | 66,305 | 5,598 | 83.50% | ||
| Fauzi Abu Bakar (PAS) | 5,277 | 7.96% | ||||||||||
| 2022 | Fahmi Fadzil (PKR) | 35,359 | 46.09% | Ramlan Shahean @ Askolani (UMNO) | 21,447 | 27.96% | 76,714 | 13,912 | 75.34% | |||
| Fauzi Abu Bakar (PAS) | 19,098 | 24.60% | ||||||||||
| Noor Asmah Mohd Razalli (PUTRA) | 810 | 1.06% | ||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil". stgpru.sinarharian.com.my (in Malay). Sinar Harian. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Fahmi Fadzil, engineer-performer-activist turned politician". Malay Mail. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- ^ "PKR's Fahmi Fadzil officially declared the winner of Lembah Pantai". 9 May 2018.
- ^ "PKR's Fahmi Fadzil emerges victorious after a neck-and-neck battle with Raja Nong Chik for Lembah Pantai". The Star. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- ^ "A middle class Malay perspective - Rencana | mStar". 15 December 2008.
- ^ "The many hats of Fauziah Ramly". 6 July 2003.
- ^ "I am envious, says Fahmi's dad". 28 April 2018.
- ^ "Keputusan | Pilihan Raya Umum Malaysia Ke-15".
- ^ "Bayangan – AXEAN Festival".
- ^ "Fahmi Fadzil 🇲🇾 (@fahmi_fadzil) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on 9 September 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "Fahmi Fadzil". IMDb. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- ^ Mahalingam, Santhakumar a/l (25 April 2024). "Fahmi shares moment 'Gol & Gincu' met 'Litar & Lumba'". The Star. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ "#Showbiz: Fahmi misses acting, happy to be artistes' Wakil Rakyat [NSTTV] | New Straits Times". www.nst.com.my. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2018/04/28/pkrs-fahmi-fadzil-takes-a-practical-approach-to-win-lembah-pantai/1625198
- ^ "PKR stays in Lembah Pantai | New Straits Times". 9 May 2018.
- ^ "Fahmi terus kuasai Lembah Pantai". 20 November 2022.
- ^ Nadia, Alena (28 January 2023). "Fahmi dreams of 'golden digital decade' for Malaysia". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ "Critics Fear Malaysia Returning To Dark Days of Press Censorship". www.asiasentinel.com. 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Anwar govt takes flak as another news website is blocked ahead of state polls". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "'Police car outside your house': Fahmi vents at critics during live TikTok session". MalaysiaNow. 27 June 2023.
- ^ "Malaysian Music Fest Shut Down by Government After Matty Healy Comments". Rolling Stone. 22 July 2023.
- ^ Reporters, F. M. T. (2 August 2023). "No political element in Fahmi's speech at Rawang mosque, say cops". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/12/12/anwars-cabinet-reshuffle-sees-the-return-of-umnos-jo-ghani-daps-gobind-amanahs-dr-dzul/107081
- ^ https://www.komunikasi.gov.my/en/public/news/23471-fahmi-appointed-as-government-spokesman
- ^ Fadli, Mohamad (20 February 2024). "Fahmi launches journo code of ethics, warns against fake news". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ Bernama (4 May 2024). "It's not too bad, says Fahmi on press freedom index nosedive". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "'Not one journalist has been arrested, dragged to court' - Fahmi [NSTTV] | New Straits Times". www.nst.com.my. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "Fahmi: Govt sticks to Jan 1, 2025 deadline for social media licensing". The Edge Malaysia. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ Vengadesan, Martin. "Digital reform no cause for alarm". thesun.my. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ Easwaran, Elill (8 December 2024). "Nothing trivial, vague about proposed CMA amendments, says Fahmi". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "CMA amendments: Minister explains where satire crosses the line". Malaysiakini. 7 December 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ Chan, Mikha (21 December 2024). "I don't believe Fahmi Reza should be charged, says Anwar". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
- ^ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE – 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- ^ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
External links
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