Be cautious in reading, sharing online news, K1M members advised
LIMBANG: Members of the 1Malaysia Community ( K1M) should strive towards becoming more well-informed when it comes to identifying and verifying the authenticity of news circulated on social media.
Assistant Minister of Agriculture Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail advised K1M members to take precautionary measures to prevent false information circulating online from being indiscriminately and irresponsibly shared and manipulated by any party.
“The K1M members need to be neutral in reading news online – some are authentic, while others are fake news. There are people who trust all the news circulating on social media,” he said when officiating at the opening of the K1M Limbang gathering in Bunga Raya Community Hall here on Thursday.
His text of speech was read by Limbang MP Hasbi Habibollah at the event, which was also attended Limbang Walikota Sufian Mohat, Limbang Division Information Department officer Peter Ah Came and Limbang District Information officer Linda Padan.
According to Dr Abdul Rahman, who is Bukit Kota assemblyman, the K1M plays key roles in assisting the government towards creating greater understanding among the people of every issue raised by the public via social media.
“The current technological development has enabled unverified news to be made viral by irresponsible people who want to spread lies and instil hatred in people. This could jeopardise the unity among the people,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Peter said K1M members who are well-versed in information technology should determine the authenticity of every piece of information before sharing them with other members.
He said the gathering served as a platform to create synergy between the Information Department and the K1M, aimed at giving great impact on the support of the community to the present government.
At the function, Hasbi announced government grants of RM5,000 to each of the eight K1Ms across this district.