Why is the Police taking so long to investigate Meta allegation of police “troll farm” or we do have a police “troll farm” operating without the IGP’s knowledge or consent?

The Inspector-General of Police, Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said investigations are still ongoing into a report by Meta that it had removed more than 600 “troll farms” from Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to the local police.

He said: “We have denied the report. I have instructed the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) to look into this.

“We are still investigating. If there are any developments (in the case), the CCID will provide an update.”

This is most unsatisfactory.

It is 40 days since Meta made the revelation on August 5 in its Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report that it had removed hundreds of Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups that were part of a “troll farm” aimed at influencing social media users in the country.

Meta said its investigation found the “troll farm”, which supported the ruling coalition and police while accusing its critics and the opposition of corruption, was linked to the police.

Did the police reach out to Meta for information?

Why is the Police taking weeks and months to deal with a problem which operates in seconds and minutes?

I have called for a public inquiry headed by a judge or former judge to investigate the serious allegation by Meta.

Will the IGP agree to the proposal to restore the police’s public credibility and professionalism and to assure the Malaysian public that the police are not in the thick of committing cyber crimes?

The IGP should state whether the police are willing to cooperate with an independent inquiry, which would include inviting Meta to disclose evidence proving the force’s link to the troll farm.

Lim Kit Siang MP for Iskandar Puteri