‘Cybertroopers should have acted earlier on Sarawak Report story’

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno cybertroopers need to be more proactive in countering claims by those intending to create negative perceptions of the party and the government.

Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday said if Umno cybertroopers had tackled Sarawak Report’s allegations when they first started, the perception on the ground would not have been quite as “destructive”.

Speaking at the Umno Social Media Convention at the Putra World Trade Centre here, he said the party’s cybertroopers, officially known as the Umno IT Bureau, should have acted earlier when Sarawak Report had claimed that party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak had paid top leaders in Pas RM90 million.

Sarawak Report had claimed the money was given to Pas leaders in exchange for support for Umno and Barisan Nasional.

Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and the party filed a defamation suit in the United Kingdom against Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown.

According to her defence and counterclaim statement, Rewcastle-Brown named former Bar Council president Datuk S. Ambiga as a source regarding the issue.

Rewcastle-Brown had said she spoke to Ambiga in July last year regarding Najib, 1Malaysia Development Bhd and Pas.

“Since we didn’t counter it, now look at what happened. After three or four months, this is what Ambiga did.

“When asked about Sarawak Report’s claim (of her being a source), Ambiga is now saying she is only mentioned in two paragraphs.”

“When the story first came out, we should have investigated it (and countered it) so it wouldn’t have been destructive.

“We should’ve taken measures sooner.

“In this case, I am very confident that if the Umno IT Bureau had taken action earlier, we could’ve erased people’s (negative) perceptions.”

Ambiga has refused to comment on the issue, except to say that she was bound by law not to say anything as the matter was one for the courts in the UK.