Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, acuan ditetapkan Barat dalam Indeks Kebebasan Media tidak bersesuaian untuk Malaysia khususnya penilaian berkaitan isu sensitif melibatkan 3R (raja, agama dan kaum).
A Sabah MP pointed out that the recent incident involving a Sabahan food delivery rider and another man was an example of how youths from the state are facing alleged discrimination.