202020: Anti-Najib Facebook page passes magical number

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 18: The Facebook page set up in the wake of the crackdown on the Bersih rally on July 9 to demand prime minister Najib Razak's resignation continues to swell with fans, reaching Malaysia's favorite figure this afternoon.

At 2:07 pm today, the page, which aimed to bring together 100,000 "Like" clicks from Facebook users, has recorded 202,020 fans, growing by more than 80,000 in a short span of a week.

The rapid growth of its fans would probably make it the single most popular Facebook page with a political campaign in Malaysia. Another Facebook page set up last year to oppose Najib's announcement of the construction of a 100-storey tower in the heart of the city has todate managed to gather close to 300,000 fans.


Since then a spate of Facebook pages with a cacophony of anti-government themes have been set up, everything from poking fun at Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor to urging unity to support Muslim scholars. At least three recent ones are targeted against Najib's deputyMuhyiddin Yasin, Home minister Hishammuddin Hussein and MCA president Chua Soi Lek, all of whom have publicly condemned Bersih sympathisers.

None have however emerged as successful as the one calling for Najib's removal. The page calling for Hishammuddin’s resignation managed to gather a little more than 16,000 fans at press time, just 8 percent of the anti-Najib page.

Not to be outdone, UMNO loyalists have also resorted to making their presence felt using the social media.

Posted in: Harakah