Ahmad Fahmi bin Mohamed Fadzil (Jawi: أحمد فهمي بن محمد فاضل; born 4 February 1981[1]) is a Malaysianpolitician, 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 and[2] the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lembah Pantai since May 2018. He served as the Minister of Communications and Digital in the PH administration under Prime Minister Anwar from December 2022 to December 2023. 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 served as Information Chief of PKR since July 2022 and served as Communications Director of PKR from September 2013 to July 2022.[3]
Education
Fahmi has a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering (BSChE) from Purdue University, Indiana, USA.
Career
Prior to formally joining PKR in 2010, Fahmi was a writer, actor[4] and an award-winning theatre performer. He appeared in shows such as the 2006 TV series Gol & Gincu (Goalpost and Lipsticks) and hosted the interview program The Fairly Current Show. He was also actively 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. He also acted as a panellist in the Anti-Cyberbully Awareness Forum, a forum organised by the Universiti Malaya Student Union (UMSU) in Universiti Malaya on 7 January 2023.
Political career
Having served as Nurul Izzah Anwar's political secretary, Fahmi was chosen as the candidate to succeed Nurul Izzah Anwar as PKR's candidate in the Lembah Pantai constituency while Nurul Izzah was sent to the PKR stronghold of Permatang Pauh. He subsequently went on and won the seat with a 5,000 plus majority as the People's Justice Party (Malaysia) became the largest party in Parliament in the aftermath of GE14. He was then appointed as the Communication Director for the party.
In the 15th General Election, Fahmi successfully defended his seat in Lembah Pantai with a larger majority albeit with a lower percentage of total votes received.
Minister of Communications and Digital
Soon after the formation of the unity government led by Anwar Ibrahim, Fahmi was subsequently appointed as the new Minister of Communications and Digital.
During Minister of Communications and Digital, He had blocked a number of news portals and blogs, including MalaysiaNow, Malaysia Today, and the Wee Choo Keong blog, which carried independent news about the government. All of these were blocked without notice. Press protection NGOs and news organizations grew concerned that, during Fahmi's tenure, Malaysia approached the days of the UMNO administration under Najib Razak, which had restricted the public flow of information.[5]
Fahmi had also faced public criticism since taking on his ministerial portfolio. He questioned the findings of a survey on the government's first 100 days and accused social media platforms of deliberately promoting opposition content.[6]
On 24 November 2023, Fahmi said MCMC is not involved in TV Sarawak's (TVS) decision on songs to be used in a state Christmas programme in Kuching.[7]
Controversies and issues
In December 2022, Fahmi Fadzil was criticised for answering a phone call during a press conference.[8]
On 31 March 2023, Fahmi faced criticism from media groups when he characterized the Berita Harian news article about financial projections as defamatory. He claimed that Berita Harian's Facebook post regarding its news report on the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) had created confusion that escalated into slander. Veteran journalist Johan Jaafar expressed that it was inappropriate for Fahmi Fadzil, in his role as the Communications and Digital Minister, to characterize a report on the OPR by Berita Harian as defamatory.[9]
On 30 July 2023, a picture of Fahmi delivering a speech in a mosque went viral, with the caption claiming he was delivering a political speech. However, Fahmi later clarified that he was simply responding to the kariah's question about the British pop-rock band The 1975, which was at the center of a controversy that ultimately led to the cancellation of the Good Vibes Festival 2023.[10] On 1 August, Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan stated that they have initiated an investigation into the dissemination of a picture allegedly showing Fahmi delivering a political speech.[11][12]
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