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Corruption has seeped into all levels of society. The general opinion is that it is now deeply ingrained in the culture of the nation. Most Malaysians believe that corruption in government is getting worse and will increase in the coming years according to a recent Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) survey.
The survey found that more than 71% of Malaysians feel that corruption will be a big problem. And of all public institutions, Parliament, the police and government officials ranked highest in perception of corruption, with 36%, 30% and 28%, respectively. And 39% of those surveyed expect the corruption rate to increase.
The negative perception towards politicians and the government could be related to the greed for wealth and power, corruption scandals involving political figures and recent media reports about some high and low ranking government officials cornered by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for working in collusion with unscrupulous elements of society to obtain illicit money.
Unquestionably, the international perception of corruption in the country is damaging Malaysia’s reputation and global competitiveness. It has hampered local and foreign direct investment and flows to the stock market, which will ultimately lead to slow economic growth.
Fraud or economic crime in the country was found to be on the rise. A proactive step was taken to prevent bribery and corruption in business organizations when the MACC Act was amended in 2018 to introduce corporate liability for corruption offenses. The bidding process for projects in the extractive and construction industries is known to be an area of duplicative activity.
Political will, good leadership
To rebuild the image of the country, there is no other choice than the MACC to do everything possible, without fear or favor, to cleanse the country of corruption, regardless of the social position of those involved. Politicians should not intervene in the role of this agency, as any form of political intervention will certainly demoralize those charged with ending corruption.
The success story of a neighboring country in fighting corruption stems from an effective corruption regulatory framework with its four key pillars of law, adjudication, enforcement and public administration, backed by political will and good leadership. The country’s resources are used optimally and it has long been perceived as one of the lowest in the world when it comes to corruption, which has attracted investors to the country, resulting in a flourishing economy .
In many countries, this culture of corruption may be due to weak democracy, lack of political transparency, and civil responsibility. This has also been contributed by political and market monopolization, greed and the endless desire of the corrupt to lead an expensive lifestyle.
Corruption will undoubtedly erode the trust that people have in the public sector to act in their best interest. Taxes on waste that have been earmarked for major development projects will be earmarked. The country’s resources are going to be wasted. So society must be prepared to withstand poor quality service.
When government projects, in some cases, are delivered without open bidding or by illegitimate or monopolistic or oligopolistic means, this could lead to “kickbacks”, euphemistically referred to as “political donations”, an unjustified reward after favorable agreements. This concession or favor in corrupt activity is a flagrant misuse or abuse of public funds.
This immoral practice shows the inefficient allocation of resources and this is going to affect the nation in terms of economic productivity and growth. It will affect the equitable distribution of resources and increase income inequalities between races and, ultimately, less money will be spent on social welfare programs. With leaks due to corrupt practices, public services such as education and health care are going to be poorer, further affecting the standard of living of the general population.
Spirit of loyalty
When there are elements of bribery in contracting commercial projects, hidden prices and inflated costs will be incurred, with partnerships chosen for convenience rather than quality. This will indirectly affect the business structure, product quality, investments and employment.
Corruption will create an underground economy in which certain economic activities will occur “under the radar.” There will be economic activities that are not declared and for which taxes that must be paid are not paid. And those in the formal economy will be taxed at a higher rate to make up for the loss from the black economy.
The government cannot sit on its laurels hoping that this aberrational practice will fade in due course. This is not going to happen. Therefore, there should be no tolerance for corruption.
The country needs realistic ways and there must be strict laws and political will to overcome this plague until society at large has learned to say no to corruption. Violators must be promptly reprimanded and a special fast-track court established solely to handle those accused of corrupt practices.
In order not to curb the spirit of loyalty to the nation, the MACC and the courts must be allowed to do their jobs independently without any political intervention. It is time for MACC to become an independent body accountable to Parliament.
Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
