JOHOR BARU, Jan 4 — A restaurant in the Johor that allegedly used communist-themed pictures and caricatures was found to have removed those images.
Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said a police team from the Johor Baru Selatan District Police Headquarters had inspected the premises yesterday at about 3.40pm as a result of the images that went viral on social media.
He, however, said the local authority had previously taken action against the restaurant for displaying business billboards that did not comply with the regulations.
“The investigation found that the owner of the restaurant was a 41-year-old local man while his wife was a Chinese national. The man explained that the images that went viral were taken in 2019,” he said in a statement today.
Ayob said his team is conducting an investigation under Section 505 (B) of the Penal Code which provides for two years imprisonment and a fine.
Apart from that, investigations are being conducted under Section 47 of the Societies Act 1966 and Section 233 of the Multimedia Communications Act (AKMM) 1998 each providing for two years imprisonment or a maximum fine of RM5,000 as well as one-year imprisonment or a fine of RM50,000.
He also said that an investigation was also underway to find out if the restaurant in the state had anything to do with the restaurant in Penang which recently was also found to be using communist pictures and caricatures.
“The public is advised not to engage in any act of promoting the ideology of communism and socialism that could arouse support for the struggle of the communist party as stern action will be taken,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) in a separate statement said the viral images on social media were old pictures of the premises before the renovations were carried out by the owners of the premises. — Bernama
