KOTA KINABALU, March 31 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Sabah will be looking into allegations that government aid for food supplies to sustain the poor and needy during the Covid-19 lockdown have only partly been utilised.

Its state director Subbiah Karunanithy said that the agency is aware of the allegations being shared on social media and has set up a task force to monitor the acquisition and distribution of aid as allocated by the state government to every constituency.

"Sabah MACC received information about the issue and has set up a task force at state level to look into the issue.

"We will be working with the state government to ensure that the aid is channeled to the people without any leakages,” he said in a statement today.

The claims that are being spread on social media include alleged official letters from the state government’s chief minister’s department outlining the monetary aid to every district and RM100 worth of individual food packs to be given out to the poor by the constituency’s Community Development Leader Unit.

Several individual posts from people in different districts claimed that the packs contained supplies that amount to much less than RM100 and questioned the transparency of the donations.

The posts often include photos of supplies that vary between bags of rice, instant noodles, flour, tea or coffee, oil, sugar and canned goods, among other things.

Those who have seen the photos estimated that the cost of the goods often do not reach RM70, much less RM100, and have called out the state government and/or aid handlers for shortchanging the people during this tough time.