PETALING JAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek came to the defence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after Najib received flak from opposition leaders for setting up his "Ah Jib Gor" Facebook page recently.
Najib had set up the page in an effort to communicate with the Chinese community but certain quarters have attacked the intention and even set up similar Facebook accounts to discredit the page.
"What is so wrong about it?" asked Ahmad Shabery.
"It is a good way to communicate (with the people). Even (US President Barack) Obama has a Facebook page as a means of communication.
"Najib is younger compared to the opposition leaders like (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang so he understands the youth better. Najib is savvy with the young generation. It is his way of staying connected to the people."
Ahmad Shabery said youths today were wise enough to evaluate the situation at hand and he is confident they would make the right decision in the coming general election.
"I don"t know when is the general election but I know our youths support the government. The government is not perfect but the opposition is not the solution," he said.
Ahmad Shabery said the government failed to acknowledge the presence of social media in the past and this was one of the contributing factor to the ruling party"s unconvincing performance in the last general election.
Many politicians have since jumped onto the social media bandwagon by setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Among the leaders active in the cyber world are Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Gan Ping Sieu and Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
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