The government is worried that false allegations spread through the Internet can be used against Barisan Nasional in the coming general elections, according to Umno supreme council member Norza Zakaria.

His comments come in the wake of growing concerns that there will be a crackdown on political bloggers.

Norza, 41, who is also the Federal Territories Umno Youth wing chief, however said the government does not feel 'threatened' by such blogs.

"I don't think (the government is threatened). It's just that there is concern about untrue stories and allegations being used against the government in the elections," he said during an interview with malaysiakini at his Finance Ministry office in Putrajaya yesterday.

Norza is also the political secretary to Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

He cited the ruling coalition's defeat in the Lunas by-election in Kedah in 2000 as an example of how the Internet can affect the outcome.

"Remember Lunas? They (the opposition) printed out (stories from the Internet) and sent them to the kampongs. This is very irresponsible," he said, adding that the government should look into this to avoid the situation from recurring.

Norza is seen as a rising star within Umno and is a close associate of Khairy Jamaluddin, the Umno Youth deputy chief and son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

'Umno cybertroopers'

With the growing popularity of political blogs, Umno has reportedly set up a team of cyber writers - sometimes referred to by critics as 'cybertroopers' - headed by another supreme council member, Azalina Othman Said.

The team, which was formed last month, is purportedly tasked with launching a 'cyber war' to counter the allegations surfacing on the Internet against the Umno leadership.

Popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who runs Malaysia Today , claimed that Norza is also a key leader of the Umno ' cybertroopers '.

He also alleged that the team was responsible for the seditious postings on his blog which became the subject of a police report last month.

Asked to comment on this, Norza - who is the founder of Umno Youth IT bureau - dismissed the claim of his involvement as "rubbish." He also denied that Umno pays any writers to do such things.

"I did mention in the supreme council (meeting) on the imbalanced number of bloggers that are anti-establishment versus those who are pro-government, but it was just to make sure that the views (on blogs) are balanced, it wasn't meant (for the bloggers) to kill each other," he explained.

Previously, Norza also called on the government to use the Internal Security Act (ISA) against errant bloggers.

He said this after opposition party PKR information chief Tian Chua posted a doctored photograph linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial on his blog.

Be responsible

Asked to elaborate on this, Norza said he wanted to urge bloggers to be responsible. He added that current laws are adequate to keep the bloggers in check, but the government is not enforcing them effectively.

Throughout the one-hour interview, the Umno leader reiterated that he did not wish to see the Malaysian blogsphere being eliminated.

However, he wanted the government to send a strong signal to the bloggers that "if you do something irresponsible, you are going to get it."

According to Norza, it's not only irresponsible bloggers, but also the government and the media that have erred.

The government by not acting against these bloggers and the media for picking up their stories, he explained.

"My message is not only to Raja Petra for instance but also to the government ... I am not only talking about Raja Petra and his fictions but what the government is doing?" he said.

Meanwhile, Norza conceded that he reads several blogs, including Malaysia Today , on a daily basis.

"I read (the articles) and not only that, I also read the hundreds of comments (from Malaysia Today readers) that screw me," he laughed.

Norza said he is puzzled as to why he has become the main subject in a series of articles published on the blog.

He said the articles make numerous allegations against him but never carry his side of the story.

"I have never met Raja Petra... All this is about perception, from people who don't like to see the younger generation like us moving up, they feel insecure and they just tell rumours, but where are the facts and figures?" he said.

Tomorrow: Norza on buddy Khairy

Watch the six-minute video here.