KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Supporters of Datuk Seri Najib Razak have started a new hashtag #FreeNajib on social media after the former prime minister was arrested this afternoon.

The hashtag is almost always accompanied by a red poster bearing the caption "Solidariti Datuk Seri Najib Razak; #FreeNajib.”

While it is not making a dent on social media yet, acronyms such as MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) and 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) are trending and among the top 10 local topics.

It is unclear who created the hashtag, but checks have shown it to be often associated with social media posts by Pemantau Malaysia Baru (PMB), a group connected to Umno.

Several users, who shared the hashtag, likened the arrest to that of PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his first stint as prime minister.

Among the first users of the hashtag on Twitter were pro-Opposition student group Siswa BN and blogger-turned-Umno Youth exco Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, or Papagomo.

Supporters had in their social media posts also urged friends and fellow Najib supporters to go to the Kuala Lumpur Courthouse where Najib will be charged tomorrow in connection with the corruption probe into SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.

Earlier today, PMB called on Najib supporters to gather outside the MACC building tonight in protest of his arrest.

In a statement with the hashtags "#Solidariti4DSNR” and "#Pray4DSNR”, PMB president Datuk Lokman Noor Adam described the arrest as an injustice.

He asked supporters to camp with him for two hours tonight from 9pm to 11pm.