MALAYSIAN have licence to call out the political leaders who make arrogant statements, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said today, according to news reports.

It is not just their right but their duty to keep such leaders in check, said Anwar.

“You have to continue your role to check those of us in the ruling parties or government. We don’t want to listen to the same old statements of arrogance,” he said in a speech at the 10th Malaysia Social Media Week in Kuala Lumpur today.

“You have all the freedom online to bang them as hard as you want.”

Anwar said social media was a tool that could be used for good and for bad. 

The good part, he said, was that it could be used to effect change by showing up leaders who go against the aspirations of the people.

“You demanded change. Ostentatious lifestyles, waste of public resources, squandering wealth to enrich the family and cronies…You fought against all that.”

He said he had also benefitted from access to social media, in particular Twitter, where he received many messages of support when he was released from prison last year.

“We welcome your support (when we introduce) positive policies and your criticism of us when we are either sluggish or have deviated from what we promised.”

Social media, however, has also been used to spread hate, he said.

“Governments tend to overreact by introducing more laws. I don’t believe this is the correct strategy.

“But of course you must have certain laws to ensure social media is not used to perpetuate violence, whether in Christchurch, Sri Lanka or elsewhere.”

Social media is also a employed as a political weapon, Anwar said.

Rather than employ cybertroopers, he said he would prefer to establish a genuine presence online to win support.

Last month, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the government is considering stricter laws to stop the spread of fake news and racism online.

This includes empowering the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to remove fake news and racist posts on social media. – April 25, 2019.