The group, which calls itself the Silence Hacker Group, sent a strongly worded email to the department’s corporate affairs division on Saturday, which it said was “the first and last warning” to the department to buck up.

SWD director Amarjit Singh said the group was primarily dissatisfied over the regular water disruptions in Sabah, particularly the state capital, Tawau and Sandakan.

“On the advice of the state secretary, we lodged a police report yesterday.

“The police said this is seditious,” he said, adding that this was the first time the department had received such a threat.

Speaking to reporters at his office here today, Amarjit said the department considers this a personal attack.

“I don’t know whether it’s to me or my officers, but I think it is to the whole department because we are one family here.”

Similar emails were also sent to the department’s offices in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau.

Amarjit also spoke of a fake SWD Facebook account set up by an individual identified only as “Ahmad Tar”.

The account holder had posted a picture of the department’s logo superimposed with drawings of male and female genitalia, as well as a slew of vulgar comments.

“This is really childish,” Amarjit said, adding that SWD had filed a report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the state computer services department.

“We want them to trace those involved.”

He acknowledged that the department had faced challenges in upgrading its level of service but said it had been doing its best.

“We are in the midst of changing a lot of things, so this is not acceptable by fellow Sabahans,” he said.

He urged those with complaints to voice them through the appropriate channels, adding that SWD’s careline number operates around the clock.

“I hope to make changes before I go off in 2021, and I know it’s a huge task. But castles are not built in a day.”