Police identify individuals promoting terrorism on social media

KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) has identified some of the 3,871 Facebook account owners who were believed to have been actively disseminating terrorist ideology and recruiting members via social media.

Without revealing the number of the identified individuals, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the matter was still being monitored and investigated by the RMP.

He said the setting up of the Regional Digital Counter-Messaging Communications Centre (CMC) in early January had helped the force to identify the account owners who were involved in the dissemination of the ideology.

Mohamad Fuzi said the RMP had also taken appropriate action against terrorism activities both inside and outside the country.

“I think it is an incredible success that the RMP has achieved since the CMC was established… It (the existence of such Facebook accounts) was rampant before this,” he told a press conference at the presentation of cheque ceremony for RMP Night Run 2018 and appreciation ceremony for RMP women's hockey team at the Senior Officers' Mess in Bukit Aman here.

Mohamad Fuzi said this when commenting on the statement by Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Masir Kujat who revealed that 3,871 Facebook accounts were being monitored by the ministry, at Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

The IGP said the police would continue to monitor the matter.

“The RMP has officers in the CMC who have been entrusted to address the issue of terrorism by monitoring the social media,” he said.

Earlier yesterday, Masir also exposed that 249 local and foreign individuals suspected of recruiting people via social media to carry out terrorism, had been detained so far. Bernama