Use social media to defend party and leaders, Najib tells Umno

Datuk Seri Najib Razak says Umno members should use social media to defend the party and its leaders from ‘false views’. – The Malaysian Insider pic, August 8, 2015.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak has directed Umno members to use social media to defend the party and its leaders from attacks, Malaysiakini reported.

The Umno president said this was needed to counter “false views”.

“Open Facebook and Twitter accounts,” he said, referring to the social networking and microblogging sites widely used by Malaysians.

“If you can’t be bloggers, being Facebook and Twitter practitioners is enough. When you see false views, you can counter them. When you see the party president being attacked, you can attack them back,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal when officiating the Bandar Tun Razak Umno division meeting in Cheras today.

He said Umno would dominate social media if all three million of its members were active users.

“Then we can defeat the ‘Red Bean Army’ and all, because we have the strength,” he was further quoted as saying, referring to the alleged existence of a cybertrooper team that is purportedly pro-opposition.

Malaysiakini also reported Najib refuting suggestions that he only wanted to surround himself with “yes men”, citing party secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor as an example.

“I am not a party president that wants all Umno leaders to be my ‘yes men’. If the party consists of only ‘yes men’, then we would not have differing views,” he was quoted as saying.

He said Tengku Adnan has disagreed with him on certain matters and he was still holding on to his party post.

“I am not so autocratic. Ask Ku Nan (Tengku Adnan), sometimes he will say ‘Sorry sir, I don’t agree with you’.

“But he is still the Umno secretary-general,” Najib was quoted as saying.

Najib’s deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday he was not a “yes man” as he believes a leader needs to voice out concerns if there are any mistakes or wrongdoings in the administration.

Athough he did not mention any names, it was widely assumed he was alluding to Najib.

Najib also lamented that being party president made him a target of criticisms, noting that the attacks had increased since he took over the party’s mantle.

He said the attacks against him by those within Umno and outside were all meant to weaken the party.

“If they want to weaken the party president, remove the secretary-general. If want to weaken Umno, attack the party president, that is the principle.

“That’s why I’m attacked, not because I’m Najib, but because I’m president of Umno,” he was quoted saying. – August 8, 2015

– See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/use-social-media-to-defend-party-and-leaders-najib-tells-umno#sthash.NxPo8cSB.dpuf