KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is turning to social media to get leads to direct their investigations.
Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said graft busters have adopted a new approach to gather information related to corruption or leakages by listening to public complaints on social media.
He said in the past, the agency was less responsive to current issues raised on social media, but today, it has become somewhat a necessity.
"We are at a point where every piece of information posted or raised on social media has to be analysed for its authenticity, to determine whether it is true or not. This requires expertise and analysis to assess whether the information is useful or not for us to proceed with action," Sinar Harian quoted him saying.
Azam said many of the investigations currently being conducted by the MACC are based on public complaints conveyed through various means, including online.
"For example, the issue regarding the founders of FashionValet. The story actually came from Parliament. Complaints from the public sometimes, we take it up, sometimes we don't, depending on the circumstances," he said after officiating the Macc Keningau branch today.
Azam explained that the MACC Is not like the police department which requires an official report to investigate cases.
"We at the commission do not need to wait for an official report to probe any matters which involve public funds.
"We can take reports from various sources, even from social media, as long as there is a certain amount of truth and has been verified, it gives us the merit to proceed with an investigation," he said.
He said ever since the pandemic, MACC has needed to be more proactive in its actions and shift its focus and strategies to reduce if not eliminate leakages completely.
"When I talk about eliminating leakage, it's because this involves the people's money. When we talk about a loss, such as RM47 million, some people may see this amount as small, but for us, this is everyone's money — the people's money.
"Whether we need to investigate if something is true or not, that is a separate issue. But it requires an agency like ours to conduct a detailed investigation to determine whether the issue is true or not. The agency that can confirm whether the information is true or not is the MACC," he added.
Azam said they faced many challenges in the line of duty, as some parties are unhappy with the actions taken by them.
"We've even investigated judges previously, and some parties accused us of various things, but we were just doing our duty.
" I always urge my officers to be professional, fair, and carry out their duty without fear because the responsibility is entrusted to us by the public," he said.