Malaysia PM Najib Razak attacked with hashtags

Malaysian leader Najib Razak has vehemently denied wrongdoing over the 1MDB scandal

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak may have been officially cleared of wrongdoing in a financial scandal, but many Malaysians remain unconvinced.

On Tuesday the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said funds deposited into Mr Najib's personal accounts were donations, not from the 1MDB state investment fund as had been alleged. Mr Najib has also said strenuously that he did nothing wrong.

Following the controversial MACC announcement, thousands of social media users have shared their views online.

Though there were a few comments in support of Mr Najib - by Facebook users with the hashtags #StayStrongPM and #WeSupportNajibRazak - the overwhelming response was sceptical.

Here are some of the ways Malaysians have shown their anger online.

Writing directly to him with the hashtag #DearNajib

One of the biggest active trends surrounding the scandal came from Twitter, where users expressed disbelief at their prime minister, using the hashtag #DearNajib.

"Dear Najib, you are a terrible actor and we are not convinced," said Twitter user Nur Afiqah in Kuala Lumpur.

"Dear Najib, we're not stupid. Sincerely, Malaysia," said another.

Other Malaysians poked fun at the 2.6bn ringgit ($700m; £450m) amount which was allegedly deposited into Mr Najib's account.

One tweeter said: "Dear Najib, I want your wife's bags and your money. Sincerely, a shopaholic who needs 2.6bn to shop."

Malaysian Facebook users flooded the PM's official page with thousands of hashtags

Spamming his 'Hatebook'

But the outrage towards the prime minister didn't stop there.

On Facebook, thousands of Malaysians continued to put pressure on Mr Najib, flooding his official page with hashtags and comments criticising his role as leader of the country.

"You destroyed our Malaysia and you still dare to act like you've done nothing wrong," remarked Hasnita Linda.

Another Facebook user warned: "We are here in our thousands, watching you. So don't think you can get away with your dirty deeds."

Protesters also took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur to express their outrage against the prime minister

'Please Donate To Me' was a popular spamming hashtag referring to the MACC investigation where regulators ruled that the money in Mr Najib's account was donations without saying from who or what they were for.

An earlier Facebook post by Mr Najib announcing his decision to replace his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, drew more than 20,000 comments, hundreds of which were hashtag attacks.

Popular Malaysian blogger Syed Akbar Ali of OutSyed The Box even described Mr Najib's page as becoming a "Hatebook" account.

"I think [Mr Najib's] publicity and social media teams are part of an internal conspiracy to embarrass and topple the PM," he said in a blog post in July.

"They are not doing anything about all these negative and abusive comments on Mr Najib's Facebook. It's best to just shut down his page."

Calling for him to step down

Calls for Mr Najib to resign grew stronger, with a Facebook petition drawing more than 243,000 likes and a steady flow of comments on his official page.

One of the more prevalent hashtags being used by Malaysians was #najibletakjwtanPM - which translates to Resign PM Najib.

Reporting by Heather Chen and Joshua Lim