IGP Wants To Monitor Our WhatsApp Because "Immature Malaysians Make Overzealous Comments"
According to Malaysia's top-cop, IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, Malaysians tend to be ‘overzealous’ when using sites like Facebook, often causing public unrest.
By Sadho Ram — 12 Jan 2016, 07:10 PM
IGP Khalid Abu Bakar says the police force will be focusing more on threats from social media this year as "overzealous" Malaysians have been shown to be "immature" in using that facility.
Apart from that, police would continue to strive towards upholding public safety, reduce crime and strengthening their institution.
At a press conference in Bukit Aman, the IGP said:
“So, for 2016 and beyond, we want to shift our focus a little bit... the focus will still be on crime… but this time, we will add social media threat to the list since we are seeing that many have gone overboard. Studies have shown that there are 14 million Facebook users in the country and Malaysia has been considered one of the worst when it comes to making comments online.”
Khalid, who has been dubbed "twitter cop", said there was a need for such monitoring because uncontrolled comments and threats made on the social media - especially false messages touching on racial and religious sensitivities - could cause public unrest
“The way a person handles social media shows a lot with regard to the level of his or her maturity. This is the reason we are focusing on beefing up our efforts since social media threats are going overboard.”
themalaysianinsider.com
Suggesting that extending the long arm of the law into investigating social media users will help stop the misuse of such apps and help maintain public harmony, the IGP also said that the police would also monitor messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, which was widely used by Malaysians to communicate and spread messages
"We will monitor messaging applications like WhatsApp, which is widely used by Malaysians to spread incorrect and false information," he said. Khalid added that the police would also be working closely with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. "We will drag these perpetrators to justice," he said.
thestar.com.myHowever, as Mr. Sadiq, the Editor of The Malaysian Insider writes:
"...if there are frustrations and incendiary comments on social media, it is only a reflection on the overwhelming sense of despair Malaysians feel about the direction of the country, and the failure of institutions to protect the rights of ordinary Malaysians.
The real crime is out there, not online. And what we need is a police force for the security of everyone, not the insecurity of the few."
themalaysianinsider.com