December 30, 2011
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com
The Business of Corruption in Malaysia
by Jeswan Kaur (12-29-11)
One must beware of ministers who can do nothing without money and those who want to do everything with money– Indira Gandhi.
Corruption has become a way of life for politicians in this country. Under the disguise of defending the rakyat’s well-being, these unscrupulous politicians are, in fact, looking after the welfare of their own kith and kin.
This “C” (corruption) factor while a favourite among the politicians has become a menace and
bane for the people, most whom have become exasperated at the after-effects of a corrupt system.
Earlier this month, the Transparency International Malaysia survey revealed that for the third consecutive year, Malaysia recorded a decline in its Corruption Perception Index score, its 4.3 score slightly lower than the 4.4 recorded in 2010 and much lower than the government benchmark of 4.9.
Is it fair to deduce that a lack of political will is the reason corruption in Malaysia is doing “brisk” business? If the recent cases of palm greasing involving politicians who also hold ministerial responsibilities are any indication, then yes, there is no commitment coming from the “powers that be” to weed out corruption from the system.
Nipping the malignant bud of corruption is not something the Federal Government is interested in. Instead, the government under the Barisan Nasional flagship is doing the reverse.
When Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak “unceremoniously” deported French human rights lawyer William Bourdon five months ago, Suara Rakyat Malaysia or Suaram was convinced that the premier and his government are “inextricably linked” with the Scorpene submarines corruption scandal.
Bourdon was representing Suaram in a high-profile case filed against submarines’ vendor DCN at the Parisian courts. (In 2002, Najib then the Defence Minister, sanctioned the purchase of the Scorpene submarines amid accusations of gross over-pricing and kickbacks).
“It is the biggest mistake yet by the Malaysian Gvernment for it is an affront to diplomacy, to international law and common decency. It was a totally arbitrary act by the Home Ministry and a gross abuse of executive power of the Najib administration,” Suaram Director Cynthia Gabriel retorted via a statement on July 27, four days after Bourdon’s deportation.
‘Leadership by Example’
Najib has since denied having had a hand in any financial impropriety in the submarines deal. Now, following in his wrong steps is the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil who is vehemently denying any involvement in the misappropriation of funds allotted to the National Feedlot Centre which is headed by her husband Dr. Mohamad Salleh Ismail and the couple’s children.
Details furnished by the opposition party PKR show that Shahrizat and her family have misused the RM250 million meant for NFC by purchasing a luxury condominium in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur and another one in Singapore, a Mercedez Benz and an all expenses-paid Umrah.
Pressure has been mounting on Shahrizat to quit but no thanks to the nation’s top two leaders i.e. Najib and his Deputy Muhyiddin Yassin who are playing “godfathers” to her, the 58-year-old Shahrizat seems unfazed and is capitalising on her 16 years experience as a politician to cover up her tracks.
Najib thought deporting Bourdon would be the end of his worry, but not as far as Suaram is concerned, with this human right group going all out to pin the premier down. Shahrizat should learn her lesson and own up before she is rejected by the people, “unceremoniously” that is.
Corruption thriving in Malaysia
The NFC scandal has become Shahrizat’s worst political nightmare. On December 23, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raided the NFC office at Mont Kiara. A day earlier, the MACC set up a special team to investigate allegations of corruption involving NFC.
While the NFC scandal remains the hottest topic at present, also having caught the people’s attention was news that aides of Najib and Muhyiddin and a Deputy Minister were allegedly “bought” by a businessman to obtain contracts from the government and its agencies, as exposed by a blogger, “The Whistleblower711”.
Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussin, who was implicated, claims that his “conscience is clear” and the money received was not corruption but instead for the benefit of the people of Bachok, where he is the UMNO division chief.
Whatever their excuses, Shahrizat, Najib, Awang Adek and Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud best take cognisance of the fate that befell former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Khir Toyo who on December 23 was jailed to one year after he was found guilty of obtaining for himself and his wife a valuable property at a consideration Khir knew was insufficient four years ago.
The court also ordered that Khir’s land and bungalow be forfeited. So much for Khir trying to ride on his MBship to amass for himself a fortune. Politicians must at all times remember that you are here to serve the rakyat – “people first and not money” must be your undertaking.
Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.
Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger 
Why don’t you cover the story of this flur wanted under the I.S.A ( read Internal Security Act ), for this current Scam relating to Felda Assets, because, inspite of threat of ISA law, he was in a hurry to become Dy PM YESTERDAY, and then straight as PM thereafter ! Najib, Caveat Venditor !
Stop they will not !
Mohamad,
They won’t stop corruption. We can if we become Bribe Free-Malaysians. Let us start by not bribing the traffic cop in 2012.
Look at Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark; citizens there do not tolerate corruption. They don’t bribe and they demand good governance from elected leaders and public officials.
MACC cannot be relied upon to fight this scourge. So we in civil society must do it by educating people about the evils of corruption.A cultural and mind-set change is required.–Din Merican
This is a cruel world but let us look at the reality.
Anwar in will serve the opposition better than Anwar out (of Bamboo River)
Shahrizat in (the gomen & wanita) will serve the opposition better than out as she can become a focal point of the gomen misuse of public money.
It sometimes appears to me that we in Malaysia are “trained” to break the law, which then provides fertile grounds for pervasive patronage and corruption. Just a small example:- Parking. Who in Malaysia has not had to park illegally just to run an errand. The problem all starts with the town planning for new commercial developments.
When the authorities give in to the powerful (read money) developers to increase the development density to an absolute physical maximum (read, maximize profits), the citizen has no choice but to break the law to find parking.
If everyone who parked illegally were fined or tire-clamped, then it would be totally overwhelming for the authorities. So close one eye, take/give RM50, and go on with your daily business.
I remember some time back at Ampang Point, MPAJ came with a land rover with clamping devices for illegal parking. It took them no more than 15 minutes to use up all the clamps, and they did not even get past the Coffee Bean shop… They could have brought 100 clamps and it still would not have been enough. The town planning is atrocious there.
I know this is a very minor example, but it is this mentality that has been drilled into all of us that – there is no “choice” but to break the law, with the next step down that slope being – there is no “harm” to break the law. And finally this becomes pervasive in society, and corruption greases the wheel.
The police/authorities are not able to do anything much actually since following the letter of the law would bring everything to a standstill. So they too become lackadaisical. It’s a shame. But it’s the burden of society now and it is a very long road back.
Is the word ‘ corruption ‘ known to Kutty, Jibbo, Mohiddeen and all the umno dunggus ?
MACC and PDRM never heard the word before !
Ask Kassim Baba and Khildai .
First and foremost the people involved must realize and admit what they are doing is “corrupt practice” and not something second nature in doing business. MACC must compile a list of things that they consider as “corrupt practice” and not just the exchange of money for favors. MACC must also come down hard on those that are involved in “corrupt practice” and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law and not conduct selective prosecution.Only then can they change and reduce “corrupt practice”. Maybe I’m asking too much here.
Under UMNO, we have to take one small step at a time and for mankind. No leap. And so it is not stop the business of corruption but stop the corruption of our business.
But some of them don’t even know what they did is wrong. They are so used to that that they think it’s the normal thing to do.
“It took them no more than 15 minutes to use up all the clamps, and they did not even get past the Coffee Bean shop… ” freeyellowman
So I have a coffee shop at Ampang Point. Where the heck is Ampang Point? It was never there the last time I was there.
So while these men in uniform were doing all the clamping, you turned yellow and ran?
“It sometimes appears to me that we in Malaysia are “trained” to break the law ..” freeyellow man
You see the law is there to protect vested interests. And so if you want to change the status quo, you will have to fight outside the law. It is not so much breaking the law.
It is Engel’s dialectics manifested by Marx’s dialectical materialism.
Hey, Jeswan, you forgot the dipping into the zakat kitty to the tiny tune of RM64,000 by the agama Islam menteri. You think this is all?
Train your eyes to the TTDI dry market. Greedy and greasy palms are already at work.
According to the Wilayah Minister, they want to unlock the value of the market by converting the area to a high rise development. Millions will be unlocked, I’ll bet. But most will flow into the usual suspects pockets.
I say demolish all the houses in the area. That will unlock even more trillions to fill the coffers of the government. The bungalows there pay a measly assessment while sitting on prime land. Raze them. Build towers. That will unlock value. Such assets should be unbundled ala MAS. That will put a great spurt to bolehland ambitions to be a high-income non turd-world nation.
The market has no heritage value, so it has to go. So says the head honcho of the most corrupt local council in the country. He should know. Maybe he should look at DBKL HQ too while he is at it. I see no heritage value in it. Hell, the whole of KL has no heritage value. It looks more and more like a cesspool every passing day.
Filled with vermin, and corruption, and thieves. Even the non-Muslim ones.
“So I have a coffee shop at Ampang Point. Where the heck is Ampang Point? It was never there the last time I was there.”…. “So while these men in uniform were doing all the clamping, you turned yellow and ran?” Mr. Bean
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hmmm… I don’t see the reason for a personal attack… And Ampang Point is just an example to make a point. Pick any commercial area any place in Klang Valley, and you will find the same situation.
“You see the law is there to protect vested interests. And so if you want to change the status quo, you will have to fight outside the law. It is not so much breaking the law.” Mr. Bean
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Most of us would know this as “civil disobedience”.
My point was that it is “ingrained” in the Malaysian psyche now… close one eye, tak-apa, etc. And it has been scaled up throughout society. This did not happen overnight, and will not be changed overnight either.
Corruption ala Malaysian style has in a way turned John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism on it’s head. ‘Small’ corruptions act as grease and lubricant, pragmatism even; while ‘Big’ corruptions are seen a ball-bearings for Corporatism.
In the good old days a Sin is a sin is a sin, no matter how big or small. Some of us were ‘taught’ this way. Nowadays, a Sin is determined by magnitude, transparency and audacity. Relativity. Thus ‘Corruption’ becomes a Utility for the common man, con-man and politicians alike. It has to do with the personal morality and ethical responsibility of every-man and no-man. Somewhat like a code to “Utopia”. Do you see the ‘jaundice’ of your opinion, freeyellowman?
Teach your children well..
“Yellow” used to connote cowardice, as in “yellow belly”. However in this day and age it connotes courage, freedom and new hope. A yellow ribbon. Bersih 2.0. People Power. etc.
Yes, we are in a situation in which Idia finds itself today. And one of its journalist, I an unable to cite the Newspaper or the journalist concered. He said, ” we want to punish the bribe-taker while the bribe-payer lives happily ever after”.
“The Business of Corruption “.
Well that sums it all up doesnt it. We have known this all along.
it takes one on the inside to break the trend and expose them and it will have a dominoe effect .
We need a strong independent Judiciary and implementation of the law as abusess are everywhere.
M’sia needs a few good women and men who have the courage to expose it and stop it..
Morality has gone out the window a long time ago, with the bath-water of infantile Malaysia when the Law started to become subservient to the executive. It is not about a few good men and women can change things, it’s the system that stinks to high heaven. The giver and taker cannot be held responsible when there remains rot in the Head. We are being ruled by a Syndicate, you see – one without scruples.
The Law is retributive to those who break it.
The Law serves to protect the innocent and the weak.
The Law is useless when used as a Utility. The Strong use it this way.
The Law must be written in our hearts, not on scraps of paper and slabs of stone, taken out and admired from time to time.
The Law can be taught, but cannot be enforced except on the weak.
Corruption in all it’s manifestations and in all spheres of human Life is breaking the Law in the heart of Man, by the stiff neck Will and the Reasoning head. Therefore it is a personal responsibility, not a societal concern, as had been implied by crynomore.
Who says Corruption is only to be used in it’s narrowest sense – that of giver and taker? Who gets abused in the process?
Mr Bean, CLF & Kathy,
Personally i support you all the way, if not for anything else, this one Simple basic thing said by Abraham Lincoln :
” You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence….
You cannot help men permenantly by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves….”
“My point was that it is “ingrained” in the Malaysian psyche now… close one eye, tak-apa, etc” — freeyellowman
Well, that’s something new !
One aspect of corruption is rooted in the dichotomy between Malay political power and Chinese economic domination. Corruption has become institutionalized as a result. Five decades on the color of the hand that greases the palm of the other has become blurred. And corruption has become endemic. Hey, that’s something new too !
Being philosophical about a problem that has got worse over the years doesn’t help. The way forward would be to put some serious handle on it. Punish both solicitor and solicited and make an example of it.
I was stopped by two policemen on motorbikes — one a Malay and the other an Indian and both sporting expensive Ray-ban sunglasses. Who says corruption is not a lucrative business? The two drivers ahead of me were also stopped. Within minutes deals were made and the drivers drove off with smiles on their faces apparently very happy to get away with cheaper ‘fines’. On another occasion I was stopped by a patrol car with a team of police officers and guess what? They too were sporting Ray-ban sunglasses and fans of Tom Cruise. This time it was a little more sophisticated. They put me in contact with their superior officer by phone who told me ever so politely that he was letting me off the hook for using an electronic equipment that was illegal to possess and that I could also keep it. Now that is something new! They couldn’t get me for speeding because I wasn’t.
Had these policemen experienced some sort of epiphany while dealing with me? The time has come to put the fear of God in corrupt public officials be they clones of Tom Cruise patrolling our streets on motorbikes and in patrol cars, or junior government officers in Giorgio Armani ties and expensive silk hijab. And the only way to do that is for a return to the rule of law. Period.
I think we should consult Sweden or Norway, two of the countries that Din cited and ask them how they did it. Learn by their examples.
If they are unsuitable (by being Europeans) and are therefore too much unlike us, why not consult the cleanest SE Asian country, whoever she may be?
What have we got to lose apart from a few humble pies?
I once attend a talk organised by Bursa Malaysia. An Indian Speaker was invited to talk on the subject of Integrity.
Briefly his thesis is that Intergrity is governed by concentric circles and the environment in which you operate. At the centre is the new born child. This child is pure and is not affected by the environment he lives in although sometimes he is able to blackmail his parents into giving him more milk.
Then as he grows he moves into the next circle which is his family menbers and relatives. Here the process of his integrity being duluted begins. At this stage it not serious because he does not have the power to influence others and the fera is always there that his parents may come down hard on him..
Then as he goes to school/university he is under the influence of his teachers and his peers. Here the foundation for his intergrity begin to take shape.He see students who copy and do well in exams while he has to burn the midnight oil to get the same grades. But still he is not affected by his environment and he holds on to what his parents and teacher have imbued in him.
On completion of his education in the university he then moves to the real world-the workplace. It is the environment in the workplace that has the most profound impact on his Integrity. If he joins the Foreign Ministry it is unlikely that he would be exposed to that level of corruption. At most he will try to sell duty free liquor to make a fast buck. But if he in in the Home Sector he is exposed to all kinds of temptations.Some he can resist but others like if someone deposits money directly into your account for a service that you have rendered without solicitng gratification becomes difficult to reject.
That is why we have the Rule of Law and not the Rule of Man. If a citizen knows that if he parks his car in a no parking area he will be fined evertimes he does it he will never do it. The same Malaysian who parks his car in Bangsar anywhere he likes automatically looks for a legal parking space when he goes south to the so called ‘little red dot’. And the driver form that ‘little red dot’ when he enters another country can be seen throwing rubbish out of his window as he is driving. That is human nature if he can get away with it he WILL do it.
It all boils down to political will. If we are serious we can lick this problem without having to send a team to Sweden or Norway.
“That is human nature if he can get away with it he WILL do it.”
Of course. Whaddya expect? Saints?
Someone was saying that man is inherently Good.., which is impossible since we are all Apes who somehow discovered the Missionary Position, due to random changes in anatomy.
The Rule of Law is the Rule of Man.
If we want the Rule of God, we’d be in Hell faster than you can say Khomeini, Taliban or Jamestown.
It is not Political Will – it’s proper education of a strong sense of ethical-moral universe by which a caring society should live by. Political Will can only give rise to an unstable society based on Legalisms, if not a Police State. Notice the exponential number of Law suites and Police Reports filed recently – mainly as Political Fodder?
I agree with you. But we must have a starting point. I thought that the starting point we had in 1957 had the basic infrastructure to lick this problem. But we lost our way in the rush to become a developed nation by 2020. So we have to go back to the drawing board, so to speak,before we appeal to the nature of man to do what is right and tell the whole world because if he does what is wrong he will not want to tell anyone including his wife.
“That is why we have the Rule of Law and not the Rule of Man. If a citizen knows that if he parks his car in a no parking area he will be fined evertimes he does it he will never do it.” – Anonymous
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If we can take this parking analogy further… and it applies to many other daily activities of Malaysians.
The developer plans to develop an area into commercial use. There are ByLaws certainly that the planners and architects have to follow. These ByLaws, in Malaysia, are also somewhat lacking for this day and age (where everyone has a car, etc.).
The developer knows that if he goes with a town planning design that would make a “nice, comfortable” community he will be missing out on some profits and/or would not make what he considers to be an acceptable profit.
The developer knows that he needs to keep prices of units as low as possible in order to easily sell them upon launch, and also to create a vibrant secondary market upon completion of the project, while still making his hefty profit margins.
The approving authorities are easily swayed to “close one eye” so that the developer can push the limit on density in the plans. The result is maximum density to the detriment of convenience to the citizen. Parking spaces are limited (not even enough for the tenants, much less the customer traffic).
The consumer uses the facilities available in this development due of course to many factors such as nearness to their home/office, lack of competing facilities nearby, etc. He/she is forced though to park illegally and pay a fine or bribe if caught.
The real effect of this is that it is like a “tax” on the consumer/citizen and is incurred every single time one uses the facility. This “tax” is in the form of fines/bribes paid to use the facility. Or the tax is in terms of time stolen from the consumer in spending 30 minutes just to find parking, whether legal or not.
And this “tax” makes it way indirectly into the developer’s pocket by way of his having maximized profits when intentionally making the density too high, knowing full well the consumer has no choice but to bear this. But he can get away with it because the city authorities are not doing their job in the initial planning stages, and the developer has the resources to sway the planning/approval in their favor.
If the authorities now, after the fact, were to enforce a strict “legal parking only” rule and station enforcement officers there (would have to be full time), then the result will almost certainly be a backlash against enforcement. The fault here is not lack of enforcement, it is failure in the whole scheme of things.
Most citizens would choose not to have things done this way. However most citizens are either lazy, or are so busy trying to survive, that they take what comes, and then bitch about it (better to bitch about parking, than to take the time to go back to the root cause).
“Parking” is but one small example of this. One can find similar “taxes” on almost all daily activities in Malaysia.
So, a country like Sweden may have high official taxes, but the authorities take their job very seriously, and are taken to task if they fail. The citizen then does not face “daily taxes” when living their life, and would in fact never put up with the slightest instance of such.
Until power is back in the hands of the common citizen, most will continue to feel helpless, burdened by the struggle to survive. This same phenomenon is raising its head in the USA now also, but one might say it’s coming from the opposite direction. The 99% have, over a couple of generations, been lulled into complacency, but now start to realize what they have given away.
The political systems of society – all man-made – are fast approaching a point where not only a paradigm change is needed, but will become inevitable. In my opinion, this will define society in the 21st century.
Jeffry Lim,
Yours is the ancient Confucian-ism Philosophy & Wisdom.
The world became a better place after the Uorising of the Masses to dismantle the Reppresive Regimes of Emperors….
But how does that differ from the present Rule of Communism ?
It gives the Chinese the dignity and respect which they lacked when they were serfs be it under the emperors or the foreign powers or lackneys of the foreign powers. Did the Korean go to threaten USA or did the Pelestinians take the land of the Jews. The victim is victimised more by imperialism.
Back to the catalysts which will help to throw the BN/UMNO gomen out. Shahrizat and Anwar should still be the focal points.