Take to social media to defend Umno against slander, Zahid tells members

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called on members to take to social media to defend the party against slander and lies.

Ahmad Zahid said Barisan Nasional lost the 14th General Election in 2018 due to “social media” crimes.

"Various propaganda, slander, negative perspectives and exaggerated stories were fabricated by the opponents to make the people hate Umno and Barisan. It continues to this day.

"When they (the Opposition) won GE14, then the rakyat evaluated what they did. This is what a slander-based rule and victory is all about," he said in a Facebook post on Thursday (April 8).

He claimed at that time, a political party offered employment opportunities to cybertroopers for thousands of ringgit a month.

"Their mission is to tarnish Umno and spread slander.

"It still lingers to this day. Even though Umno only formed the government and had no absolute governing power, they still did the same thing," he said.

“This was because they don’t want the party to rise up, weaken us and they want to continue to make sure the people hate us, ” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said the people have assessed Barisan’s sacrifices and contributions to religion, race and homeland.

"We were blocked, our accounts were frozen and there were attempts to dissolve the party.

"I call on Umno members. Move on to social media. Currently, only loyalty and sincerity can be demanded. We need to move forward to fight accusations and slander.

"If not, negative perspectives will continue to be played by the Opposition to stop Umno from rising," he said, adding that in today’s digital world, everything can be fabricated.

He said videos, photos and voice calls can be created because the applications already exist.

"What I am asking for is to rebut the accusation with the right facts instead of sowing slander. The Umno leadership is not like them," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said this after an audio clip of two voices sounding like him and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim went viral on social media on Wednesday (April 7).

In the recording, one voice was heard congratulating the other for putting up “a good performance during the Umno AGM” while the other thanked him.

Both allegedly discussed the possible resignation of Umno ministers as well as the exit of Umno from the Perikatan Nasional government.

However, Ahmad Zahid and Anwar have since denied the authenticity of the audio recording, and instructed their officers to lodge reports over the matter.