UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) do not want to lose the cyber war to the opposition during the 14th general election.

“Barisan Nasional was accused of losing to the ‘Red Bean Army’ in the last elections. We do not want that to happen again,” said Ahmad Maslan, Umno’s information technology (IT) bureau chairman.

Towards that end, he said the IT and social media personnel appointed at each of the 191 parliamentary constituencies must play an active role in combating attacks from the opposition.

“We want our machinery to expose the lies and defamatory stories and combat the untrue accusations,” he said after attending a briefing to IT bureaus in Permatang Pauh, Bagan and Bukit Mertajam.

Ahmad who is also deputy minister of international trade and industry said the IT bureaus which were set up about 18 months ago would be able to handle wild accusations.

“During the 13th general election, one of the biggest lies was that 40,000 Bangladeshis were brought in to vote for BN. 

“Keadilan Daily said this and then the news went viral on social media. Another lie was that the dye used on the fingers (of voters) could be washed off, whereas it is permanent. 

“With these bureaus, we can fight and explain the true situation,” he said.

Ahmad also said Umno and BN supported the Bill on Fake News which will be tabled in Parliament next month.

“Only people who are bankrupt of issues and spread lies do not like the bill. We (BN) have a lot of stories to share.” – Bernama, February 25, 2018.