On one hand, we have heart-warming stories of ordinary Malaysians banding together to help the needy, and on the other hand, we have selfish Malaysians who hoard essential items and endangering lives.

The most intriguing community of all is none other than the T20 class.

They came under fire last month for ignoring the MCO by heading outdoors for a jog despite stay-at-home orders.

More recently, the T20 is in the news again because of their spending habits during the MCO.

A decline in spending all around

And no, it's not because they've been blowing their money and showing off their worth while everyone is struggling to meet ends meet - it is the direct opposite.

According to the statistics released by the Department of Statistics (DOS), the average spending of a Malaysian household has dropped a whopping 55 per cent during the MCO, from RM6,317 to just RM2,813.

The drop is expected, but what we didn't expect was that the T20 segment (the Top 20 class of citizens with a median household income of at least RM13,148, according to Syncwealth) has reportedly been spending less than the M40 and B40 groups during the MCO period.

The DOS report revealed that the those in the T20 group have been spending 60 per cent less, compared to the 48 per cent drop from the M40 and 41 per cent from the B40.

The category that saw the biggest decline is the spending on clothing, which saw a decrease of 95 per cent from RM136 a month to just RM7 during the MCO.

Malaysians also have been spending less on entertainment and recreational activites (71 per cent, from RM200 to RM58), alcohol and cigarettes (65 per cent, from RM98 to RM35) and household items such as furniture (72 per cent, from RM168 to RM47).

The only category that saw an increase in spending was basic food items, with a 27 per cent increase from RM726 to RM924 during the MCO period.