Abdul Karim warns against abuse of social media

November 9, 2016 

SIBU: Those abusing the online social media to create ill feeling between the federal and state governments or stir racial or religious tension were yesterday given a stern warning.

In telling them to watch out, Assistant Minister for Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and police to monitor such activities and bring those responsible to book.

Abdul Karim was reacting to a fake Facebook posting that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem had threatened to withdraw Sarawak from Malaysia, which went viral recently.

A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office on Monday refuted the claims made in the posting, which it said were intended to create a rift and ill-feeling between the state and federal governments.

It denied that Adenan had ever made any public statement to threaten to secede from Malaysia if the federal government did not solve some problems raised openly by the chief minister.

“Social media users who commit despicable acts of creating racial or religious tension, spreading untruth stories, promoting treasonable acts against the King or our beloved nation or pitting the states in the Federation against each other or against the federal government; they better beware.

“The long arm of the law will sooner or later catch up with them. Likewise, media users who tried to use the social media to create tension between the chief minister and the federal government… by maliciously quoting Adenan giving ultimatum to Putra Jaya to ‘return’ Sarawak’s right lest he (Adenan) would seek to take Sarawak out of Malaysia is most despicable and downright malicious,” Abdul Karim, who is Asajaya assemblyman, pointed out.

Abdul Karim added that Adenan had reiterated many times that he wanted to see Sarawak’s rights that had been diminished and eroded from the original agreement signed in 1963 be reinstated, but he did not support any attempt to secede from Malaysia.

“That is what our forefathers had wanted and that is what Sarawakians now will preserve. If there is any attempt by anyone or any movement to secede or take Sarawak out of Malaysia, that is treason and the full might of Malaysia should be used to crush it.

MCMC and the police should monitor any attempts by anyone to create this division or to create ill feeling between our chief minister and the state government and Putra Jaya.”

Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) Sarawak chairman Abdullah Saidol said ‘wicked political opportunists’ were to be blamed for manipulating Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s frankness and straightforward statements to create animosity and fraction between Sarawak and the federal government.

Abdullah said these opportunists were merely taking advantage of the chief minister’s statements solely for their political gain.

Abdullah, who is also chief political secretary to the chief minister, said Adenan himself had mentioned many times before that Sarawak jointly formed Malaysia and would remain in Malaysia.

“Those wicked political opportunists who are trying to create animosity and fraction between the state and federal are merely taking advantage solely for political reason and obviously have no genuine issues of their own,” he said.