Police probe Facebook post urging arson against Pakistani-owned shops

RANAU: Police have launched an investigation into a provocative social media post calling for shops owned by Pakistanis in Ranau and nationwide to be burnt down.

District police chief Superintendent Mursalin Mahmud said the post was detected on Saturday by the Ranau police headquarters operations room on a Facebook account named "Berita Harian Ranau".

He said police managed to capture a screenshot of the post before it was deleted.

"The spread of such posts causes fear and public anxiety. Consequently, police have opened an investigation paper under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998," he said in a statement today.

Mursalin said police take the matter seriously and reminded social media users and page administrators not to misuse communication platforms in breach of the law.