Malaysians need not to be hounded on Twitter least of all by the country’s police chief, anti-Sedition Act group Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (Ghah) said.

As such, the group today launched a campaign to get Twitter users to report Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar for “threatening behaviour” on the popular social media network.

The group points that under Twitter’s terms of use,  it is specified that users on the platform “may not engage in targeted abuse or harassment” or issue “threats”.

“The IGP ( left ) has violated these rules and in banning him, Twitter will be making its platform safer for Malaysians to freely express themselves without fear of persecution by the chief of police,” Ghah said in a statement.

 

Khalid, who tweets using the handle @KBAB51, self-appointed himself Twitter “referee” by targeting specific NGO leaders and politician and dictating what they can or cannot be said online, said Ghah..

“In fact, it appears the IGP acts on the demands of Umno cybertroopers, even without proper verification of the reported Twitterposts,” it said.

This was evident when he instructed investigations against Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy without even first checking if the picture of the latter’s tweet was doctored.

Earns 'kebab' nickname

“Ghah demands the IGP act impartially and professionally when directing his officers to investigate crimes instead of pursuing specific individuals simply for their opposition to the authorities,” it said.

Since he started tweeting, Khalid has used Twitter to instruct sedition probes against various politicians, NGO leaders and members of civil society

He also instructed investigations against a Twitter user for accusing him of being “BN’s dog”. The user was later charged with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

DAP’s Petaling Jaya MP Tony Pua is currently under probe after Khalid sought Pua’s explanation for the the phrase “royal my foot” in his tweet responding to PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar’s arrest for sedition.

The IGP’s actions on Twitter have also earned him the nickname ‘Kebab’ in reference to his Twitter handle which sounds like the Middle Eastern dish.