DAP’s ‘Red Bean Army’ firing on all cylinders

(The Star) – DAP has been training cybertroopers for six years and now the party boasts the biggest number of online troopers dubbed the “Red Bean Army” numbering in the thousands, former Klang DAP Youth chief Shen Yee Aun said.

He claimed the cybertroopers, who are paid well, were trained to hack pro-government websites and social media sites.

It is alleged that the Red Bean Army has between 2,000 and 3,000 members, whose purpose is to launch attacks on any pro-government messages as well as spreading unfounded allegations.

The army’s reach could extend to 60,000 through postings in Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites.

Shen said the messages would then be spread as fast as possible with the aim of instilling hatred and mistrust toward the government.

He said the main operations centres for the Red Bean Army were located in Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

“The cybertroopers would also threaten people to achieve their objective. Their modus operandi is to create fiction, manipulate information as well as attack and ridicule the government.

“Even those seen to support the government would be victimised. These cybertroopers are spreading politics of hate,” he said.

Shen cited examples of local model Leng Yein, who was victimised by the Red Bean Army, just because she spoke against the Kedah Government’s dress code for mo- dels.

Even celebrities, including Michele Yeoh, Jackie Chan and Azhar Sulaiman have not been spared from their attacks.

Umno Youth’s new media unit chairman Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said the lies spread by the opposition had become nasty and slanderous as polling day drew nearer.

“We learnt from the 2008 election experience that we cannot let them just spread lies.

“We are fighting the opposition on their own turf through our cyber activists. We are lagging behind but at least our presence in the cyber world is felt,” he said.