In an effort to further investigate into the alleged abuse of power, corruption and money laundering involving local citizen and public officials alike, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has came up with the most brilliant idea, which is to monitor ‘peculiar spending activities’ via social media.
With the arrests and actions on the 1% taken by MACC recently, the agency is now turning its focus on civil servants, investigating and uncovering the possibility of ill-gotten wealth by those who brags about their extravagant possessions online.
MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner Operations, Azam Baki stated that they will be monitoring postings of expensive holidays abroad, luxury goods such as designer bags and
branded accessories on social media platforms, targeting every Malaysian citizen, not only those who are of high ranking positions as well as their family members.
MACC also relies on public tip offs in addition to their own investigations. Azam Bakri added, “Having one too many Hermes, Chanel or Louis Vuitton bags will raise eyebrows and suspicion as to the source of their wealth. If civil servants or their family members are having more than a dozen and flaunt them, then we would like to know where they got the money to buy those bags.”
Looks like MACC is staying true to their word. Last Sunday, it has been reported that the agency was monitoring the movements of a group of civil servants who golfed in Thailand and Indonesia.
“These civil servants are not professional golfers who need to play overseas and their actions could lead to corruption and abuse of power. Even though the civil servants involved have proof that they are paying for their own trips, but the moment they arrive overseas, they are hosted by certain parties. The ‘hosts’ will then take care of their ‘guests’,” said Dzulkifli Ahmad, MACC’s Chief Commissioner.
First, they say those who share too many of their possessions online are secretly mental, and now they’re arresting said group of people. This is serious business, guys. Remember to flaunt your happy living lifestyle (even if you’re just pretending) on the internet at your own risk!
