KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 21 — The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) has denied forcing its staff members to "like” and share posts made on social media by its minister and deputy minister.

In a statement, the ministry said it had not circulated any such memo to its staff but does encourage information sharing.

"KKMM have been made aware of the viral posting on Facebook since yesterday where it stated the minister had made it compulsory for all staff members to ‘like’ and ‘share posts made by the minister and its deputies.

"We would like to deny these allegations. There has been no such order given by the minister regarding this matter.

"The ministry is always encouraging its staff to participate in information sharing to the masses through social media platforms,” the statement said.

According to the posts that went viral, the staff were told to participate in the postings of minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, deputy minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, and secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Mentek.

It also told staff to follow all social media platforms belonging to the trio and if they did not have a social media presence to activate an account for themselves.