Fans of Malaysia’s Rafizi face police probes as internal party feud intensifies

At least 20 social media users are under investigation by the communications commission, the former minister says

A feud within Malaysia’s ruling party has intensified after supporters of former People’s Justice Party (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli alleged they were targeted by the police over social media posts about last month’s party elections.

Rafizi, who served as deputy to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim within the party, lost his post in the May 23 internal election to Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah. Her elevation fuelled accusations of growing nepotism in the party, which is helmed by her father.

Five days later, Rafizi resigned as economy minister and has since enjoyed a popularity bounce. On X, many supporters have changed their profile picture to mimic his new profile – a cartoon of himself in the style of US animation The Simpsons.

But with the growing popularity comes backlash against the 47-year-old, who is seen as a potential leader with a broad pull across Malaysia’s ethnic patchwork.

At least 20 social media users who backed Rafizi were under investigation by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the former minister revealed.

Some said the agency’s methods crossed into intimidation, citing unexpected visits and personal contacts made via unofficial channels.

“They contacted my fiancée first to find me, before contacting me” for questioning, Ashraf Muhammad told This Week in Asia. “I went to give my statement and my phone and SIM card were confiscated.”

Ashraf said the officer called on a personal mobile number outside office hours, prompting suspicion that it might be a scam. When asked how they had obtained his fiancée’s number, the officer allegedly said it was “based on their research”.

Another user, Amer Hamzah, said officers showed up at his parents’ house and asked to meet him, but could not produce an official notice when asked.

“Two MCMC officers came with two plain-clothes police officers saying they wanted to see me, but they couldn’t show any proper documents,” he said.

Both Ashraf and Amer, as well as others, have shared screenshots of emails from X’s legal team saying that it received a request from MCMC regarding posts from their accounts which allegedly violate Malaysian law.

“We have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request,” X said in the emails.

Rafizi, in a statement, claimed that the MCMC was being “dragged and pressured by certain parties” to act on politically charged matters, calling it an attempt to silence criticism of the PKR polls.

He has previously claimed that there were irregularities in the software used in the polls, resulting in the defeat of his close allies during the earlier stages. His own defeat was a result of a coordinated move fuelled by undertable dealings among party delegates, he also alleged.

“I advise political leaders entrusted with their respective ministries not to mix political views with official duties,” he said. “There is a possibility that certain individuals are hiding behind these ministers’ names to direct the MCMC or police to pressure the public.”

However, Rafizi added that he did not believe either Anwar or Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil – who oversees the MCMC – were behind the move.

The MCMC denied Rafizi’s allegations, insisting that all actions were taken based on verified complaints.

“Every action taken by MCMC must be based on verified information and subject to legal provisions, including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” said MCMC deputy managing director Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin on Monday.