MARCH 10 — During his speech at the opening of the new parliamentary session, the King urged the relevant authorities to take actions to address the problem of social media abuse by the public, involving contents that are seditious, defamatory and extremist.
The King also felt that delaying the handling of issues related to national unity could give rise to bigger conflicts and controversies.
The abuse of social media has deteriorated over the years against the backdrop of intensifying political confrontation, and the King’s speech indeed should serve as a timely warning to potential abusers.
Thanks to the phenomenal growth in the availability of Internet, we have seen a dramatic surge in the number of web users, making social media sites very much a part of modern-day life of Malaysians, more so for the younger generation. Facebook is currently one of the most popular social media sites in this country with half of the population using it on a daily basis.
Social media has been designed as a sharing platform to promote cordial communication and improve relationships. Unfortunately, it has been widely absurd by irresponsible individuals to scatter contents which are seditious, defamatory and extremist in spawning animosity and promoting antagonism.
As political confrontation deepens in the country, many have resorted to social media sites as an alternative battleground to spread their libelous hate-breeding messages, causing confusion among the unsuspecting recipients.
In view of this, it is imperative that our politicians take the lead in setting a good example for the public instead of abusing social media sites to advance their manipulative politics for their own gains.
Malaysia is a young multiracial and multicultural country where the integration of different ethnic communities is still ongoing and where racial and religious issues remain highly sensitive, providing good opportunities for volatile emotional reactions.
The moment a small bunch of individuals attempts to abuse social media to play up sensitive religious and racial issues, the otherwise harmonious interracial relation will be at stake, and national solidarity baffled.
Social media has been intended to open up our world and close the gaps, but the abuse of it could create more havoc and further disengage the society.
As if that is not enough, extremist and religious fanatics may make use of it to propagate radical and unhealthy ideas, posing severe threat to social stability and our personal safety.
The authorities must take every precautionary step to check the abuse of social media while the users must learn to use it in a more responsible manner to ensure it remains what it was meant to be, a platform for genuine and healthy communication, not one that disseminates inappropriate hateful messages.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
