KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli is pursuing legal action against Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal over allegations that ministry funds were used to pay cybertroopers.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Rafizi confirmed he had instructed his legal team to initiate a lawsuit against the Bersatu MP following the claims.
“I have never sued anyone before, but YB Machang’s (Wan Fayhsal) accusation forms a clear-cut case for court,” he said.
The issue arose after Wan Fayhsal shared a post from social media influencer @RichardPower on X, which included slides detailing the supposed roles of cybertroopers and their task of promoting favourable narratives about government initiatives online.
Wan Fayhsal, who leads Bersatu Youth, commented: “All of these are Rafizi Ramli’s hired cybertroopers. How convenient to use ministry funds for political purposes!”
In a separate response on X, Rafizi said he had instructed his press secretary to file a police report regarding the allegations.
“The economy ministry has never paid anyone to be an influencer,” Rafizi said, adding that his office had never come across the proposal that allegedly involved paying an influencer RM60,000.
Wan Fayhsal when contacted by online news portal Free Malaysia Today said that would only respond once he received a formal letter of demand from Rafizi.