#MyVO1Ce - platform sukarelawan siber pro-kerajaan

Rallying BN cyber troops

By REGINA LEE

regina@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Bring out your iPads, iPhones, Blackberries, tablets and laptops!

“These are your weapons as cyber warriors,” Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told a crowd of social media practitioners who responded to his call with an enthusiastic applause.

The Prime Minister, who is also Barisan Nasional chief, drove home this message before a crowd of 2,000 when addressing the 1Malaysia Social Media Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday.

At the first-ever such convention, Najib gave pro-Barisan social media writers “official recognition” by calling them the new army for the party in the virtual world.

“So, this is your role as cyber warriors. Our social media army can turun padang, but not by rolling up your sleeves and trouser legs,” he said. Also called the 1Malaysia Social Media Volunteers or myVO1CE the voluntary social media practitioners will explain and defend government policies online.

Najib said the time had come for a re-look into Barisan's methods of disseminating information to the public.

“Social media will enable us to engage with the public directly.

“In the past, getting information across to the people on the ground meant going to an open field and asking the Information Department to set up stage and microphones,” he said, urging the social media practitioners to write frequently and be united in the face of an Opposition that works to only confuse and mislead the public.

“It is up to you to set the record straight,” said Najib, adding that he was also attacked when allegations surfaced that his daughter had gone on a spending spree in Perth.

The Prime Minister, an avid social media follower with a constant presence on Twitter, said it was also through social media that he delivered his Aidiladha greetings while on his haj pilgrimage in Mecca, thousands of miles from home.

Speaking at the BN Youth Job Fair earlier yesterday, Najib said he was confident that the Government could achieve the 5% to 6% gross domestic product growth target through the Economic Transfor-mation Programme.

Bank Negara had announced that the country recorded a 5.8% growth for the third quarter of the year.