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Malaysia: Muhyiddin ally Annuar Musa slammed for stoking race tensions with disinformation
- Caretaker Information Minister Annuar Musa shared a video of a political rally in Taiwan without specifying so, urging Muslims to not take ‘clear enemies of the religion as allies’
- Annuar is a member of Umno but is seen having strong ties with Malay nationalist Muhyiddin who leads Umno’s key rival Bersatu
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Hadi Azmiin Kuala Lumpur
A Malaysian minister seen as close to prime ministerial contender Muhyiddin Yassin on Wednesday was forced to amend a Facebook post that commenters said was dangerously fanning racial tensions amid the country’s political deadlock.
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Annuar Musa, a member of the Barisan Nasional bloc had shared an undated video, seemingly featuring a Taiwanese political rally with attendees wearing red attire.
Malaysian fact-checking initiative Faqcheck told This Week in Asia the video was of a 2019 rally by then-Taiwanese presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu.
In the accompanying text, Annuar did not specify that the video was shot in Taiwan or offer other details on what it was about. Instead, he wrote obliquely about the need for Muslims to not take “clear enemies of the religion as allies”.
“At our moment of weakness, Allah commands us to no longer be separated and divided,” Annuar wrote. The politician, who is the caretaker information minister, did not offer context to his comments.
Facing a deluge of criticism, he removed the video from the post but retained the text late on Wednesday afternoon.
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Annuar, 66, is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party but is seen having strong ties with Malay nationalist Muhyiddin who leads Umno’s key rival Bersatu.
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