Detained: Suspect who allegedly insulted the Agong on Facebook

By Digital News Asia June 4, 2013

Female suspect was in hiding after her identity was revealed by bloggers
Umno Youth chief Khairy says the wing takes a serious view on social media posts

Detained: Suspect who allegedly insulted the Agong on Facebook THE Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), working with the police’s Commercial Crimes Department, said it has successfully tracked and detained a suspect who had allegedly insulted the Yang DiPertuan Agong (or king) on Facebook.

The suspect, who is female, was detained to assist in investigations. She was believed to have been in hiding after her identity was revealed by bloggers, the MCMC said in a statement. The industry regulator said it was also requesting the suspect’s friends to come forward to assist in further investigations.

According to the national news agency Bernama, Umno Youth – the youth wing of the United Malays National Organisation which is the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition – had urged the MCMC to act against what it said was a group of individuals who had allegedly insulted the Yang DiPertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, on Facebook and Twitter.

“Umno Youth takes a serious view on some posts on social media, especially in Facebook. The latest was a posting that insulted the position of the Yang DiPertuan Agong,” said its chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

“Even I support freedom of speech but there is a limit and responsibility,” he told reporters. “We’ve been trying various ways to educate them, communicating with them, but if they are still stubborn and post statements that are clearly seditious, then MCMC must step in and act,” he said, according to the report carried in the online edition of the Borneo Post.