Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has accused Internet news portals such as Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider (TMI) of censoring readers' comments that are in support of BN.

NONE This, said Khairy at the BN Youth Cyber Team launch in Kuala Lumpur today, created an impression that young people support the opposition.

“When we read the comments page in Malaysiakini and TMI , there seems to be many who support the opposition. We know their editors sekat (block) comments that are sympathetic to BN.

"This BN Cyber Team initiative is to counter that and to encourage the people to gain the correct information from BN via BNYCT Twitter and Facebook .

“This is so that the young people do not feel as if they are alone in cyberspace in supporting BN,” Khairy said at the launching of BNYCT.

Khairy invited all those in the cyber world who supported this BN initiative to join the BNYCT platform.

Also present in the event were his deputy Razali Ibrahim, who is also deputy youth and sports  minister, MIC Youth chief T Mohan and PPP Youth chief Harish Mohan.

To correct misconceptions raised by opposition

Khairy said when the youth have a query about BN, they could tweet to the relevant Facebook and Twitter links to BNYCT and the reply would come in five minutes and the service was to correct the misconceptions raised by the opposition.

The Umno Youth chief said BNYCT was not a cybertrooper team but a platform where the younger generation could interact on the social media, through Facebook and Twitter, and for them to get the correct information about BN.

NONE He pointed out that the BN did not have a strong cyber presence during the 2008 general election and it hoped to make amends in the coming 13th general election.

“This time BN will not let Pakatan win the cyber war. With BN chairman and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak having a large following on Twitter, in excess of 800,000 followers, we can make a difference on the social media,” he said.

Khairy, or KJ as he is usually called, is also active on Twitter, having more than 130,000 followers.

During a press conference he held later, Khairy was asked to comment on opposition to Section 114A of the Evidence Act, which has been gazetted and criticised as stifling for Internet users.

His response was that he did debate on the amendment and felt the people should be careful when making comments on the Internet.

Be responsible with your comments

“People should be vigilant and responsible for comments posted on the Internet as they should not be making racist or seditious comments. I understand we cannot delete all of them as this is the discretion of the moderator.

“However, the people should refrain from making racist remarks or affect the sensitivities of other races. Just delete all comments that are racist or racially sensitive.

“I know Malaysiakini has this problem. Although we respect freedom of expression, we must also respect racial sensitivity,” Khairy added.

The Centre for Independent Journalism today announced the launching of an Internet blackout campaign on Aug 14 to protest against Section 114A, which it said would muzzle Internet freedom.

The BNYCT initiative is open to pro-BN and pro-government cyber volunteers who believe in Najib's leadership.

BNYCT is headed by Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, who is with the BN's information and social media unit.

Those who wish to be part of the BN cyber team can register by sending an email to byycyberteam@gmail.com or through Facebook and the BN Youth Cyber Team Twitter link at https://twitter.com/BNYCyberTeam

VIDEO | 1.48 mins

Editor's note: As a rule, Malaysiakini does not remove readers comments unless they violate our terms of use. Comments that are deleted mostly contain profanity and personal attacks. We do not delete comments based on political inclination.

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