Looks like Malaysia’s media authority is sticking to the narrative that hackers had breached their Twitter account to post 2013-2014 angst-ridden tweets.
The Communications and Multimedia Ministry has announced that it will begin investigating its now-suspended Twitter account for possible abuse or misappropriation. Results from their findings could lead to more serious actions, including reporting to the anti-graft agency.
“This committee will also recommend appropriate action, including disciplinary action, lodging a police report or reporting to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, or bringing a civil action in court against the parties involved if there is negligence or misconduct in this issue,” secretary-general Mohammad Mentek told reporters yesterday. Mentek will lead the committee, which also include his deputy Tan Chuan Ou and four others.
READ: Malaysian man who sold Twitter account for RM1.3K didn’t know authorities would take over
The committee was formed just days after the ministry suspended its @SKMM_MCMC account after people dug up a slew of old tweets that read “f*ck you, baldy” and “just go on lah, pig,” among others, comments that had likely come from a teenager than a government agency. Some of the old tweets still had replies from people referring to the account via the handle “@NazrulllHakim.”
Nazrul told Coconuts earlier this week that he was the previous owner of the account while he was in high school and had 50,000 followers, before selling it at RM1,300 for extra cash. He didn’t expect a government agency to be the account’s next user.
MCMC deleted their Twitter account less than an hour after screenshots of Nazrul’s alleged tweets under the @SKMM_MCMC handle circulated online. The media authority then issued a press statement saying they were hacked and urged people to avoid sharing the tweets they had described as “suspicious messages.”
“The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission would like to inform everyone that our official Twitter account @SKMM_MCMC has been hacked,” the statement said. “Hence the account has been suspended.”
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