PUTRAJAYA – The Community Communications Department (J-Kom) will be briefing Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil prior to the appointment of a new department director-general.
Fahmi said that he has yet to meet with department representatives, who now report to his ministry, following restructuring measures based on yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle.
“We have to give them (J-Kom) some time and space to brief us before I can comment on this,” Fahmi told a post-cabinet meeting press conference at the ministry’s complex, here today.
The minister said this when questioned on updates regarding a new J-Kom director-general after the previous one, Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff, resigned from the position.
Soon after his resignation, Agus became embroiled in controversy when an indecent video allegedly featuring him and J-Kom assistant officer Abdul Wahab Abdul Kadir Jilani made the rounds on social media.
In a joint press conference on November 17, the duo admitted to having a video call, but said the audio in the viral clip was doctored to make it sound like a lewd conversation.
Agus and Wahab also claimed that an individual known as ‘Mr H’ who worked in J-Kom was pulling the strings behind the clip meant to tarnish Agus’ name.
They also alleged that ‘Mr H’ had instructed Wahab, who is also Hulu Langat PKR Youth vice-chairman, to record the video call for the purposes of entrapment.
Following an investigation, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the individual known as ‘Mr H’ had come forward to provide his statement to police.
Last week, Scoop reported that Wahab had commenced legal action against the government, Bersatu information committee member Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard, and J-Kom division director Hakim Ramlee.
Hakim had previously denied blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s claims that he was ‘Mr H,’ labelling the accusation as malicious and random.
J-Kom, which was previously known as the Special Affairs Department (Jasa), was under the then-Communications and Multimedia Ministry before it was moved to the Prime Minister’s Department during Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s tenure as prime minister. — December 13, 2023