YOURSAY | Anti-graft drive will fail if the stick is a piece of rotten wood

YOURSAY | 'We have reached the stage where the corrupt no longer fear punishment.'

Low pay not always the motivator for corrupt officials, says MACC chief

BlackJaguar6029: Training courses on integrity are not magic wands. We are just kidding ourselves if we believe courses are the solution to this big problem. It’s a horrible lie.

If it had been so easy to just give courses on integrity, Malaysia would have been way better than Singapore, ages ago.

Civil servants/public officials have been sent to many courses and prayer sessions, you can see for yourself the current failed system and situation.

The root cause is a corrupt culture driven by greed and selfishness at the workplace, coupled with selectively being "overlooked" by irresponsible watchdogs supported by policies using race, religion, etc, as excuses.

The corrupt culture has become a common practice, almost automatic and an expected privilege to indulge in. Hence, the crime gets bigger and bigger, escaping public scrutiny, or even if caught, they are selectively released as we have seen.

Kawak: We have compulsory ‘Pendidikan Moral’ and Islamic lessons in schools. The government spends huge sums on building places of worship.

Jakim has a substantial allocation for religious programmes. Radio and TV constantly carry out religious programmes. But why corruption is so rampant in our society in comparison to our neighbour, Singapore?

It all boils down to political will with a strong anti-corruption political leadership.

Anonymous 5237: @Kawak, I totally agree. What is the point of talking about greed or integrity? Everyone is greedy or lacks integrity when the temptations are strong enough, even those living in countries with very low corruption.

We just do not have a leader who is ready to enforce the rules. If we are not ready, let’s not talk about greed or integrity. We can talk all we want, do all the training, teach all about integrity (as if integrity can indeed be easily taught), the end results will be the same.

I can even say we are not even ready to enforce much simpler things like the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Covid-19. Otherwise, who will dare go abroad for holidays without the need to quarantine when coming back home and then give silly excuses?

GoldenPhoenix2391: It appears MACC chief Azam Baki has missed the point. The best way to eliminate 'project tender cartel' and Ali Baba practices is to open procurement practices and tender exercises to all eligible tenderers.

After more than 60 years of affirmative action in the field of government procurement, institutionalised non-competitive bidding has engendered a damaging culture of entitlement of privileges based on race.

By opening procurement to all races, corruption can be effectively curbed and industry efficiency is enhanced for the good of all citizens.

Coward: As they say, we will not have corruption if there is no greed, and of course, a man of integrity will not accept bribes. While I agree low wages are not the absolute factor, like the two above, it does contribute.

What was not mentioned is institutional integrity, where a culture of no corruption is instilled, lack of leadership as the full chain of command is seen to be corrupt, and on Azam’s part, lack of enforcement.

Milshah: You have to separate the motivation for corruption between low and high-ranking officials. For high-ranking officials to commit fraud, high wages may not be the motivator.

But for low-ranking officials, low wages are a motivation to commit corruption. Azam’s jumbling of the two is wrong.

JusticeNow: Today, outside of Klang Valley and Penang, government officers get paid better salary than non-professional private sectors employees. But the corruption of elected officials and political appointees are blatantly on display without shame or reservation.

Few Malaysians believe elected officials are "clean" with only a few exceptions. That is public education and modelling for the public service. Until and unless there are serious changes to this, nothing will change because it is the "norm".

To date, apart from opposition politicians, which government politicians have been convicted and jailed? Don't talk about the small fry. This sends a clear signal to public servants that corruption is "rezeki" (fortune) and it will never change.

MSBoleh: Malaysia has reached the stage where the corrupt no longer fear punishment. They walk the street unpunished and even worshipped. High profile cases dropped, delayed or suspended.

Small-timers caught are punished with a slap on the wrist. Many around the world being punished for 1MDB but how many from ground zero in the world’s greatest heist have been punished to date? That tells us about our desire to fight and eradicate corruption.

This also shows that no matter how sweet the carrot is, it will not work when the stick is just a piece of rotten wood.

Jaycee: Always remember that the rot starts from the top.

If you have corrupt ministers who steal and loot but are still in power, what is the message you are sending the subordinates? That it is okay to loot and steal, and when you are caught, blame everybody else and play the victim card.

For All: The higher rank you are, the thirstier you will become. The easier it comes, the greedier you will be craving for it. The longer you are at the top, the crueller your efforts, no matter what it takes.

It was all the upbringing from the previous regime's attitude before GE14.

GreenLeopard4021: Yes, monkeys see monkeys do. If the top is corrupted, the others down the line will follow suit.

See how they overthrew the duly elected government, bought over the frogs and entered through the backdoor? Did they learn this in school?

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