Recently, a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer went viral after he was rudely shouting and chasing away a bunch of farmers as well as a team from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
A video clip of the incident went viral on Twitter where netizens slammed the MACC officer for acting inappropriately. The video showcases a confrontation between the MACC officer as well as Sivarajan Arumugam, who is the Secretary General of PSM.
Mahmad Farid bin Kamal Penolong Penguasa SPRM shouted and chased away the farmers and PSM team. SPRM total harrasement here.
Now only two allowed to make aduan. pic.twitter.com/nSlyE0QrAP— Parti Sosialis Malaysia (@partisosialis) April 21, 2022
In the video, Arumugam can be heard asking the man who he is, to which he responded that he is the safety officer whilst showing off his ID. Arumugam then asked if they could speak directly to the head of the MACC to which the man responded that he is a MACC officer.
The officer then grew visibly irritated as he began to shout at them. He even told the person recording that they’re not allowed to record a video and that they must delete it.
According to PSM, they were at the headquarters of MACC alongside small farmers from Perak to make a complaint on suspected irregularities in government land affairs in the state of Perak.
Netizens outraged at behaviour of MACC officer
The video has gone viral on Twitter as the video has been viewed over 170,000 times. Netizens took to the comments section to condemn the MACC officer for his rude behaviour as well as ask MACC to take action against him.
“This officer seems rather unprofessional and quite immature. Needs training on conflict management 101,” said a user.
Another user asked MACC to investigate the officer. “Why did he need to shout at pedestrians? Is this considered the SOP?”
“Since when can the staff of government offices talk like this… When I was working in government, all of the officers that handled counter services had to attend a course on how to handle the counters with manners,” commented a netizen.
MACC releases official statement
Following the backlash it has sparked, MACC has released a statement to further explain what went down that day and defended its officer by saying that he was acting accordingly.
The MACC Security Division stated that only 3 representatives are allowed to enter the compound and meet the officers on duty to lodge complaints, as stated under the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act 1959.
However, 25 members of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) showed up at MACC’s headquarters and 7 of them entered the compound right up to the main entrance of the building.
Meanwhile, video recordings and cameras are not allowed in protected areas without the permission of MACC’s higher management and hence, the group did not comply because they recorded a video while standing within the compound and the MACC building.
Nevertheless, MACC explained that they will take the matter seriously and will conduct investigations on the alleged incident. If there’s misconduct, MACC will take appropriate action.
Who is in the wrong? Let us know in the comments.
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