KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — In response to recent cases of racially and religiously insensitive comments going viral on social media, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has announced that she will be reaching out to Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil to tackle the problem.

Speaking to reporters after attending the EU-Asean Youth Diplomats Programme today, Yeoh said that youth were quick to download and use social media apps, but most did not receive any training on how to handle the technology — through which information can be rapidly disseminated.

“I hope that in higher learning institutes or in youth programmes, we can increase training to teach them how to use social media in a responsible and prudent manner,” she said when met at the Asia-Europe Institute in Universiti Malaya here.

“For example, our athletes, maybe in their opinion, they just type out one comment thinking that it is just one post for a friend.

“But they don’t expect that the comment to go viral.”

On February 9, national women’s hockey player Hanis Nadiah Onn was indefinitely suspended from representing the nation in the sport after making a racially insensitive comment regarding those who attended a concert by Indian musical composer AR Rahman.

On February 13, a video of former national reserve badminton player Bong Guang Yik went viral over racist comments made against the Malay community while criticising the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).  - malaymail