Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ahmad Maslan, who was slammed for making "two jobs" remark, has advised netizens against surfing social media till late at night.

He said it is better to learn e-commerce skills than surfing the social media till the wee hours of the morning.

Part-time job in e-commerce will bring in the revenue, he added.

"Malaysians love the social media, like WhatsApp , Facebook and Twitter at the wee hours; don't know how that would be beneficial (to them).

"If they learn about e-commerce, they will get revenue," he said at a press conference after visiting the Malaysia Export Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Ahmad shared a success story of someone who sold palm sugar (gula Melaka) via e-commerce.

"The person made RM4 million by selling palm sugar online. That was the reason I was so happy to spread the online business idea," he said.

He expressed regret that the social media and a few leaders have looked at him from a negative angle although he was merely making a proposal for people to take an extra online business job.

Malaysians love to spin something (positive) into something negative, he said.

"If we spin into a negative direction, then it will not benefit us and we will forever be at the negative side," he said.

He added that he has instructed agencies under his ministry to focus on the e-commerce sector next year, given its potential.

"I see potential in e-commerce as most Malaysians own smartphones and are interested in social media.

"So, don't look at what I suggest from the negative side... spinning negatively is unfair to me," he said.

Despite the hail of criticisms, Ahmad, who is also Umno information chief, opined that people will understand his remark one day.

"The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is often perceived negatively, but the GST is able to save the country's economy... never mind, the people will understand," he said.

On Dec 26, Astro Awani quoted Ahmad as saying the government encourages hard-pressed Malaysians to take up a second job.

"I think it's not wrong (to have two jobs) in Malaysia, though we have regulations, but it is still one way to address the rising cost of living.

"They can work during office hours (from 8am to 5pm) and still run their online business... as long as they have enough sleep and come to work.

"They can run their businesses on weekends," said Ahmad.