Face of the Day

An ACT Party candidate in Auckland has filed a complaint with police after a torrent of online abuse, including racial slurs and threats against him and his family, surfaced on social media.

Malkiat Singh, ACT’s candidate for the Papakura electorate, said he had been subjected to sustained cyberbullying since his candidacy was announced earlier this month.

The police complaint comes a week after Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki called for Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims to be “purged” from New Zealand, comments that Ethnic Communities Minister Mark Mitchell later described as the actions of a “scared bully”.

His remarks were also condemned by ethnic community organisations, including the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand and the New Zealand Central Sikh Association.

Singh believed the abuse escalated after Tamaki posted about his candidacy on social media.

“Somebody tagged me in that post and that’s how I found out about it,” Singh said.

“And looking at the way it was presented, it was implying as if I’m an outsider and I’ve come here to intervene in New Zealand politics,” he said.

“That’s the impression of many people who were responding to this post, that’s how they perceived it.”

RNZ