KUALA LUMPUR – Community Communications Department (J-Kom) Director-General Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff’s “failed” leadership has reflected negatively on the government of the day, said opposition MP Datuk Awang Hashim (Pendang-PN).
In debating Budget 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat today, Awang proposed that the government consider dissolving the agency, which is under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department, for its apparent lack of success.
“(Agus) has failed to properly handle J-Kom. The way he is directing the department gives a bad impression of the government. I’d suggest that J-Kom be abolished because of its failure. Is it really carrying out its role to educate the people?” the PAS lawmaker questioned.
He also said J-Kom’s increased allocation under Budget 2024 should be reduced, claiming that the department had received an “RM12.5 billion allocation” under the supply bill tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last month.
“This is an RM200 million increase compared with J-Kom’s RM11.8 billion allocation under the previous budget,” said Awang.
Checks by Scoop with Anwar’s budget speech found no mention of such figures.
“What are the mechanisms to ensure J-Kom’s success and how effective are such measures at making sure the department is a functional medium to provide political education to voters? The department must conduct its work more clearly,” the PAS man added.
Awang also said previously, Pakatan Harapan (PH) itself had called for the abolishment of the Special Affairs Department, which was later rebranded to J-Kom, over worries that the department would be utilised for government propaganda.
“It seems as if the way J-Kom is run now is more to attack the opposition. It should not be used to throw accusations (at the opposition).”
Previously, it was rumoured that dissatisfaction among politicians in the unity government and public criticism over J-Kom’s efficacy could potentially result in the appointment of a new director-general.
Among Agus’ critics was Skudai representative Marina Ibrahim, who had proposed he be replaced following J-Kom’s failure in disseminating information on government policies, especially public-centric initiatives.
Awang was not the only opposition MP who took issue with the government’s communications arm as Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Masjid Tanah-PN) and Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (Kuala Krai-PN) also raised concerns about its supposed inefficiency.
Bersatu MP Mas Ermieyati questioned the increased emolument allocation for J-Kom, which will supposedly see the agency receiving RM6.1 million under Budget 2024 compared with its RM4.3 million under the previous budget.
She also brought up an “inaccurate” infographic J-Kom released previously comparing the price of goods during Perikatan Nasional’s administration and PH’s government, which caused “negative reactions” among the public.
“J-Kom must be careful when managing public perception so as to not belittle (the hardships) faced by the people during stressful times. It must be the voice of the people instead of (platforming) government propaganda.
“J-Kom must be proactive. Today, there are sentiments bashing the prime minister, (so) J-Kom should better and more positively handle public perception.”
Besides that, PAS MP Latiff also said shuttering J-Kom’s would save Putrajaya some RM13 million, claiming that besides failing to explain price hikes, the department has also failed to educate the public on the Israel-Palestine war, leading to polemics among the people.
In July, J-Kom was criticised for releasing an infographic stating that the household expenditure for a family is less than RM400 a month while the monthly spending of a single individual is about RM200.
The infographic, which J-Kom deleted from its social media platforms within two days of being uploaded, garnered fierce public backlash – with many describing it as unrealistic as it did not take into account necessities such as sugar, milk and vegetables. – November 6, 2023