Therefore, literally kleptocracy means rule by thieves. It involves: A rule of government of any possible kind, which those in power exploit and steal national resources; Those in power who used power and official position for personal gain or to steal from its people, and aim to stay in power through corruption, collusion and nepotism; A government dominated by unethical leaders but who pretend to be honest, when in reality there is rampant greed and involvement in corruption; Impostion of a massive tax burden on the public and enterprises; Treating countrys treasure as though it were their own bank account; Exploitation of the wealth of the public and uses the proceeds for their own use or glorification including spending funds on luxury projects to obtain more commissions; A government that practices cronyism and nepotism by awarding prime contracts and civil service posts to relatives or personal friends rather than being given to competent candidates and A government that create projects at policy level as the main reason to funnel money out of the treasury to themselves or cronies with little viability
or necessity of the projects - more projects and programmes mean more
money - when in actual fact, those are public money and should be used to build schools, hospitals, kampung roads and houses for the public. In order for a country to be qualified to be labelled as a kleptocracy, it has to meet the above criteria.