So you think you can say anything on Facebook?

Last week’s case of a student who posted threatening words on Facebook drives home a point that there are rules that you should follow when posting comments on the internet.

Rules are rules and there are some things that you can’t joke around.

While the 25 year old student was fooling around when he said: “ke nak aku baling bom petrol di sana plak?...harga boleh runding…” (or you want me to throw petrol bomb there? Price is negotiable) on the social networking site, his joke is not funny under Section 233 (1) (a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Mohamad Tasyrif Tajudin, an Arts Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara) student was charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court last Friday with knowingly using the application with the intention of threatening others.

Tasyrif’s case came in the wake of the controversial use of ‘Allah’ by the Catholic weekly magazine, The Herald, which aroused the anger of Muslims.

Several cases of arson at churches in the country were reported arising from the High Court decision on Dec 31 last year that the Herald had the constitutional right to use the word in respect of instruction and education of the congregation in the Christian religion.

Last Friday’s case serves as a reminder for those who have been using this social networking site by openly giving comments on such sensitive issues.

The ‘Allah’ issue is a sensitive one, and let us not get so emotional over this.

Some non-Muslims chose to worsen the situation with racial overtones in their remarks on Facebook as they failed to understand the reasons for Muslims’ outrage over the use of ‘Allah’ in the Church magazine.

And for our media friends, please respect the use of ‘Allah’. One newspaper recently spelt ‘allah’ (with small letter 'a') throughout in one story in its recent publication. Allah is the Almighty and the only one.

The first letter is a BIG A.