Everyday, we are seeing more proofs that the UMNO/BN coalition is arming itself with two new weapons for the 14th General Elections – fake news and corruption.
Najib and the UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition are the worst culprits in concocting and peddling fake news and false information, but the UMNO/BN strategists and propagandists want to weaponise the fake news issues with new legislation and mechanism purportedly to combat fake news, but whose real purpose is to harass and persecute Pakatan Harapan leaders and supporters over fake news allegations while giving the UMNO/BN leaders and supporters immunity and impunity for the fake news they concoct and disseminate against Pakatan Harapan.
The attack launched by UMNO/BN cybertroops on the social media posting a fake photo of Muslim Pakatan Harapan leaders eating at a table where pork is served is one recent example.
The photo shows state PH chief Mukhriz Mahathir and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu eating at a table where a roast suckling pig could be seen.
The Facebook user posted the photo on Tuesday, captioned: “Nak undi Cina punya pasal sehingga sanggup makan babi. #Undi Pas.” (Because they want Chinese votes, they would even eat pork. #Vote PAS.)
This is fake news, as the sucking pig had been photoshopped, and this could be easily proven when compared to the original photograph.
In another instance, DAP Selangor and Wanita DAP leader, Young Syefura Othman(Rara) was target of the UMN0/BN cybertroopers and was accused of partaking in a Chinese festivity to chop up a sucking pig, when in fact she was not in the photograph or event at all!
It was a PKR event and those in the photograph were the Selangor PKR State Exco, Elizabeth Wong, PKR State Assemblywoman, Chua Yee Ling, and PKR Selayang Councillor Fok Wai Mun. Rara was not in the photograph or event, but she was defamed and Fok was falsely identified as her husband.
Such campaign of lies, fake news and false information must be condemned without reservation, and I must ask whether the Azalina Fake Committee on Fake News is the latest UMNO/BN stratagem to accuse and charge Pakatan Harapan of fake news, camouflaging the mass of fake news which UMNO/BN cybertroopers are concocting and peddling in the run-up to the 14GE.
The same applies to the corruption issue. The script is to use the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and other outfits to tarnish the image of Pakatan Harapan leaders as equally corrupt as Barisan Nasional leaders, and that on the score of integrity and corruption, the voters do not have much to choose between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.
This is why for the past month, the MCA Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong carried out the special assignment to undermine and destroy public confidence in DAP and Pakatan Harapan by ceaseless attacks on the Penang State Government’s undersea tunnel project, even to the extent of sabotage of the Penang undersea tunnel project.
This is most immoral and unethical for the greatest legacy of the Najib administration is undoubtedly the appellation of a global kleptocracy as a result of the world-infamous multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal, which has landed Malaysia with the worst ranking of TI CPI for the past 23 years.
(Media Conference Statement 3 at Wisma Penang on Friday, 23rd February 2018 at 11.30 am)