Questions arise over BN’s funding for heightened cyber war

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Nov 11, 2013

(The Ant Daily) – Several government agencies have been using a public relations agency to wage psychological warfare via social media as early preparation for GE14.

Having learnt its lessons in the 13th general election (GE13), the Barisan Nasional is making early preparations to take on the opposition in the cyber world in the next polls.

The general consensus is that BN lost out to Pakatan Rakyat in the battle for the hearts and minds of the people via the new media.

Now, BN is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to go one up on Pakatan.

Against this backdrop, there are concerns that taxpayers’ money is being used to fund media campaigns solely for the benefit of the ruling BN.

According to sources, several government agencies have been using a public relations agency to wage psychological warfare via social media as early preparation for GE14.

The public relations company, which is based in Bandar Sri Damansara, Selangor, was hired by the government agencies soon after the May 5 general election, the sources said.

“The public relations agency administers various pages on Facebook, including for Friends of BN and The Rakyat Post. Their posts are in English, Malay as well as Chinese,” said a source.

“In fact, web pages which seem to lend support to the opposition have also been created with the aim of misleading Pakatan supporters,” the source told theantdaily.

“In the initial stages, they would appear to be criticising the government, but as the general election draws nearer, their true intention is to lead voters away from the opposition.”

The Rakyat Post is the latest news portal in town, and it is believed to be financed by a businessman with close links to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The source declined to say how much the public relations agency is being paid for the job.