I am tickled no end by news report today that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Shahidan Kassim would raise in the Cabinet on Friday the proposal for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the allegation that DAP funded the “Red Bean Army” cybertroopers during the 13GE to demonise UMNO/BN leaders and supporters.
Shahidan revealed this at a media conference at the Parliament lobby after receiving a memorandum from 130 Malay-Muslim NGOs on the fictitious DAP-funded “Red Bean Army”, which had purportedly 300 to 3,000 cybertroopers with a budget of RM100 million to RM1 billion in the past six years to demonise and character-assassinate UMNO/BN leaders on the cyberspace, and which is credited as a major cause for the defeat of UMNO/BN in the social media war and their 13GE setbacks.
I do not believe that any UMNO/BN leader of minimum intelligence would believe in the tall tale of the DAP-funded “Red Bean Army” of 3,000 cybertroopers with a budget ranging from RM100 million to RM1 billion.
It is now more evident than ever that the so-called DAP-funded “Red Bean Army” is a concoction of a well-funded UMNO/BN conspiracy to demonise and destroy the DAP (the DDD Brigade) which is controlled from the inner sanctum of the 13GE Umno/BN “War Room”, and the ability to keep alive the fictitious tale of the DAP-funded “Red Bean Army” is testimony of the power and influence of vested interests who want RM350 million allocation whether from UMNO or public funds to pay for UMNO/BN cybertroopers for the next five years.
I had in fact mentioned this in Parliament last Thursday, but I made a RM100 million-mistake, as I had alluded to a campaign by the Umno cyberwarriors for a RM250 million allocation to fight the imaginary DAP-funded “Red Bean Army” for the next five years – when in fact, the figure being asked for is RM350 million!
If the Cabinet sets up a RCI on the alleged DAP-funded “Red Bean Army”, Malaysia will make history as the first country in the world which establishes a RCI on a fictitious allegation.
I will support a RCI into the lies and falsehoods in the 13GE, in particular the racist lies, falsehoods, provocations and incitements, whether on cyberspace or printed media, which marred the 13th General Election.
Is the Cabinet prepared to establish such a RCI?
If so, then I would suggest that the Cabinet should set up a RCI on the 13th General Election, on why it had not been a “clean, free and fair” elections resulting in the 13GE results being generally regarded as undemocratic and unrepresentative of the will of the electorate – which would include an inquiry into the lies, falsehoods, racists provocations and incitements perpetrated during the campaign period, whether on social media or printed media.