Forget about that traffic patrolman that kissed former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s hand. The reality is that the police, especially the upper echelons, understand that they are there to sustain the political fortunes of political operatives, all in the pursuit of pecuniary benefit.

This is exactly what the “our boy” recording was all about. People should not forget there are many “our boys” all over the state security apparatus. The hilarious thing is that they normally work at cross purposes, except when everyone is worried that the whole house of cards may come crashing down.

Pakatan Harapan winning the general election was supposed to be the extinction-level event for the police, but as whistleblower retired Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer said of judges: “The talk among the judicial members was that they were appointed because of the influence of an ex-minister who they served earlier.

“I will reserve my right to speak further to a royal commission of inquiry (RCI). They all knew it was business as usual, and all the fear of tribunalisation had disappeared overnight, and now they are looking forward to top positions upon vacancy.

“To me, I see it as one movement from a kleptocracy regime to another and nothing more.”

While the average cop on the street is burdened by a large family and low pay have to be content with a small portion of the cut from their superiors – if he or she is on the take – high-ranking police officers and their proxies enjoy lifestyles and privileges that are part and parcel of the system created by the ‘ketuanan’ ideology.

This is why the police have been fighting tooth and nail against any kind of independent oversight. This is why the political apparatus has been aiding and abetting the police on this issue.

Take human trafficking, for instance. In nearly every report or investigation by credible professionals on the business of human trafficking worldwide, what has always been highlighted is the connective tissue between corrupt public officials - namely security operatives - working in collusion with human traffickers.

This, of course, goes beyond a few bad apples, and where there have been scandals on human trafficking, there has always been evidence of the collusion between the security apparatus of that particular country and traffickers who profit from human misery. Wang Kelian is a testament to this.

The opposition is asking where the budget for this type of propaganda machine is coming from. Why? This is Malaysia, and government spending is all over the place and with very little oversight.

What is important is what exactly the propaganda was about and how effective it was. In other words, what damage did this propaganda do?

The opposition should be asking Meta for more information, go through every single scrap of data and present their findings to the public. This way, we could discover who these proxies are and what kind of propaganda needs to be countered.

The only thing surprising about this toll farm link allegation is that the police, for some odd reason, didn’t do a good job of maintaining plausible deniability.

I guess with standards slipping in every branch of the government with corrupt and inept people elevated – I am talking about the bottom of the barrel – to positions of power, something like this was bound to happen.

Or maybe it is just that the police do not care that a certain demographic does not trust them anymore, or maybe they understand the political apparatus, either establishment or opposition, will never sanction their malfeasances.

YOURSAY | Police-linked troll farm - no smoke without fire