Rafizi Unsurprised By Cybertroopers Claim Points To Pkr Vietnam

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Rafizi Ramli admitted he was unsurprised over the discovery of a coordinated campaign by at least 263 accounts to artificially boost support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Facebook.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, the former PKR deputy president commented on the Malaysiakini investigation, saying he detected a similar pattern earlier this year on his social media posts when he was still economy minister.
“I remember in March this year, I was really meticulous when it came to social media. For my TikTok and Facebook content, I always check who liked and who commented, because I wanted to understand how we can close the communication gap.
“One day in March 2025, I noticed - why are so many people liking this kind of stupid content? So I checked who was liking it, and they were all from Vietnam!” he said.
ADS“I asked my team to investigate what connection people from Vietnam had with my TikTok content.
“My team checked and we saw there was a trend - not only was my content getting likes from Vietnam, but also content from some other ministers and even the prime minister had likes from Vietnam,” he added.
The Pandan MP said the pattern pointed to a deliberate attempt to manufacture online support using deceptive methods.
Experts who reviewed the findings of Malaysiakini’s investigation said the patterns clearly indicate professional astroturfing - a campaign designed to create a false impression of grassroots support.
Over a three-month period, comments from the 263-account network comprised nearly one-quarter of all comments sampled by Malaysiakini from the prime minister’s posts.
The network relied on a shared script of pre-written phrases. These include generic praise like “bukti kerajaan Madani…” (proof that the Madani government is…) and specific talking points such as “gaji minima RM1,700” (RM1,700 minimum wage).
Commenting further, Rafizi, who failed to defend his PKR deputy president’s post against Nurul Izzah Anwar, said a similar trend became more evident during the March party polls.
“I was very clear on social media that my campaign had higher traction compared to Izzah’s… And as usual, we would check who and how.
“Those behind these shadowy activities weren’t careful, because the same group who liked the minister’s campaign earlier went on to like Izzah’s campaign… so I exposed it as ‘PKR Vietnam chapter’,” he quipped.
Illusion of support
Rafizi stressed that while such “unethical groups” exist in all political parties, it is up to the leadership to give clear instructions against the practice.
“If we’re not careful as prime minister, as ministers… we might think people like us when in fact it’s just troll farms,” he said.
ADS“So my advice to those in PKR who are doing this - if this is your way of flattering Anwar, it doesn’t help.
“In fact, it only creates a mirage or just an illusion (of support),” he added.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has denied any knowledge of or involvement with the network, stating there is “no basis or necessity” to direct the MCMC to investigate.
The PMO also attributed the activity to individuals exercising their freedom of expression.
However, evidence of shared scripts, professional work schedules, and a coordinated cluster structure contradict this explanation. - Mkini

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