PUTRAJAYA: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia called for the government to strengthen enforcement against deviant teachings and to establish religious reference centres to disseminate accurate information and knowledge.
His Majesty said the country is facing a challenge due to the influx of unregulated information through social media.
He said there is growing concern about the spread of misleading, inaccurate, misinterpreted and deviant Islamic teachings.
"Every Muslim must be wise in discerning what is right and what is wrong. The spread of inaccurate religious information through social media can lead to confusion, division, and deviant religious practices.
"In the past, people learned religion by reading books and listening to lectures in mosques. However, today people learn about religion online from 'Ustazah Facebook' and 'Ustazah Tiktok.'
"Therefore, I would like to remind everyone to be cautious when seeking religious knowledge on social media and ensure that the content obtained is authentic and credible," he said.
His Majesty made these remarks during a royal address at the national-level Maal Hijrah 1446H celebration at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre today.
He advised the public not to misuse social media as a platform to spread hatred or, even worse, to make unfounded accusations.
"I would also like to remind everyone not to turn social media into a place for arguments or disputes (among the community).
"And please do not expose the faults of others or make embarrassing issues 'viral,' as this can lead to division and conflict."
Also present at the event were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, tMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.