Weighing into the case of a "prince and his father", veteran newsman A Kadir Jasin said being monitored was not their immediate concern as more pressing is their straying into the political arena.

Kadir, a former New Straits Times editor-in-chief, did not mention names but Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim last Sunday claimed his father and he were being monitored by the new government.

"In the case of the prince and his father, the more immediate concern is not about the monitoring of their social media activities.

"The concern is about them straying into the political arena where they may get clobbered, their immunity questioned and their status lowered.

"Anybody who plays politics must be prepared to be treated like a politician, more so when he or she takes to the media – social and formal – to air partisan views," Kadir said in a blog posting today.

He said an example was "one Tengku Mahkota" (crown prince) making comments on politics ahead of the 14th general election.

"For instance, the New Straits Times had quoted one Tengku Mahkota as saying before the May 9 general election that the people must open their eyes and not be deceived by a 93-year-old individual who wants to be prime minister.

"The people know who the 93-year-old is that the prince was referring to. He asked the people to use their wisdom, saying he knew things that they did not.

"So I am not surprised if the people are now 'monitoring' the social media activities of this crown prince and his father to see if they continue to express partisan views, instead of being royal and regal," Kadir said.

Kadir, who is a special adviser on the media to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said this in his personal capacity.

'I love people monitoring me'

As a writer on the digital medium, he didn't mind people monitoring him.

"In fact, for the sake of ego, I love people monitoring me. It means they read what I write.

"So, my advice to people who are active online is to start accepting the fact that 'you are being monitored'," he said.

Kadir added that if it wasn't the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) monitoring, then it could be a foreign or a domestic intelligence agency.

"You may be watched by foreign governments who think that your postings reflect the point of views of the government or some powerful organisations.

"Or, more importantly, because you could be used as a bargaining chip in international espionage and negotiations.

"During the Cold War, it was very common for spy agencies to lure important political figures with beautiful women, wine and money.

"Once these sex-craved politicians were caught on film, they would be used as double-agents and puppets to topple or weaken their own governments," he said.