The police are utilising Twitter to keep the public informed of their actions, said Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar.

He denied that the social media tool was being used to crack down on dissent.

"To accuse the Malaysian police of using Twitter to crackdown on dissent is most inappropriate and to charge that we use the medium as an extension of the arms of archaic and draconian law is most uncalled for," he said in a statement.

Khalid ( left ) was responding to criticisms regarding his practice of issuing orders for investigations to be launched on tweets deemed seditious via his own Twitter account.

Apart from drawing domestic flak, the international media, such as the New York Times , have also highlighted the issue.

National security

Meanwhile, Khalid said it was “appalling” that critics lambast the way the police keep the public informed.

The top cop claimed it was not “legally wrong” to use Twitter to issue orders for investigations, especially since the issues had raised the public’s concerns.

“It is legally wrong when some quarters use the platform to influence or instigate a third party’s opinions or actions that will adversely affect national security and interest.”

He stressed that restraint and caution must be exercised by all parties to control the rise of racial and religious sentiments which could tear the country apart.

“Such is also true with seditious and intimidating comments which could disrupt social harmony and create unrest amongst the people.”

Admitting that freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one’s opinions and idea, he said it must, however, come with “common limitations” as universally observed by governments all over the world.

And these include slander, sedition, hate speech, incitement, public nuisance as well as threats to public security and order, he added.

Double standards

In a related development, human rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has accused Khalid of practising double standards when it comes to policing the Internet.

LFL executive director Eric Paulsen ( right ) said pro-Umno "cyber-troopers and trolls" appear to have free reign to publish anything, including hate speech and incitement to violence, with impunity.

"What is more shocking is that the Twitter policing (by Khalid) is usually done at the behest of pro-Umno cyber-troopers and trolls who urge him to take action on particular tweets.

"Needless to say, it is unbecoming for the IGP to be seemingly taking instructions from (them) when he should be neutral when dealing with them," he said.

Paulsen himself has been investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 for publishing a tweet where he claimed that some Friday sermons contained elements which promoted extremism.

He was detained for two nights and later charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the same law.