KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 – For the Royal Malaysian Police, its biggest challenge to date is tackling potential cyber threats and seditious remarks on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said there had been a sudden increase in cyber threats in the first nine months of 2014 with 8,140 cases reported, a number which could undermine the confidence of the people and disrupt social life as well as economic stability if left unchecked.
“Racism and threats issued freely without any control will seriously impact the multiracial society in this country as it involves public order and national security. “Preventive measures should be taken to ensure there is no repeat of racial tension. “I think prevention is better than cure,” the nation’s top cop told reporters in a special interview in conjunction with 208th Police Day celebrations.
Khalid said police action taken against those who issued statements which could lead to incitement clearly showed that police were serious in tackling those who abused the freedom offered by social media. Commenting on his recent orders, over Twitter, to investigate social media users, Khalid explained that it was the fastest way for the police force to act against social media users, in particular those who incited others by spreading false information.
He was also dismayed by the fact that many had chastised the men in blue for supposedly restricting the freedom of expression, particularly in social networking sites. The police, Khalid argued, always respected such rights but there were limits, especially in view of the country’s multiracial and multi-religious society.“I am like the referee.” Khalid also warned social network users to be careful when voicing opinions or views, especially on such platforms because these could cause a threat to public order.
He stressed that no warning would be given and immediate action would be taken against those who insisted on posting seditious remarks and hid behind the freedom of expression excuse. Despite the opposition and challenges faced when issuing commands via Twitter, Khalid claimed that his actions had been successful in reducing seditious statements on social media networks. According to Khalid, police specifically targeted leaders who had many followers because they had to bear the responsibility for abusing social media by issuing statements which could be seditious, defamatory or false.
He added that in addition to addressing challenges in social networking sites, police also had to face many challenges, including the spread of heresy, racial extremism, anti-government activities, religious extremist groups, terrorism and liberalism.
