BAGAN DATOH: The Home Ministry, via the police, will work together with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as well as the Malaysian Cyber Security to check immediately the channelling of contents which violate the social media law by certain cyber trooper groups.Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the immediate action was to ensure that information channelled by individuals or cyber groups through the various social media such as the Facebook, Twitter and blogs were transparent and correct.
"The complaints have been on the contents of the social websites and blogs including by the 'Red Bean Army' group, which touched on matters contained in the Sedition Act concerning racial sensitivity as well as slanderous contents that exceeded legal principles," he told reporters here, Saturday.
He was commenting on press reports Saturday on the action by various groups urging the Government to take stern action against undesired elements in cyber space such as the Red Bean Army which jeopardised harmony between the people of various races in the country.
These groups also called on the authorities to amend the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to prevent slanders and sedition which the cyber troopers concerned were attempting to promote.
Ahmad Zahid said the policy on the social media mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was to provide freedom of expression including the formation of the 'cyber troopers' by political parties and certain groups.
However, he said these principles and policy must be respected based on the responsibility to the country and the law and they must not be abused.
"This is what we try to avoid. We want the MCMC and the Malaysian Cyber Security to be able to take action, not because of the existence of the cyber troopers such as the 'Red Bean Army' but because of the contents in the social media managed by them," he said.
He said that 85 per cent of the new media in the country were managed by the social media of the opposition in the country without any obstacles imposed by the Government.
What was puzzling was that the contents highlighted by the groups such as the Red Bean Army were believed by the professional groups and technocrats who were highly educated, he said. - Bernama
