Corruption and its debilitating impact
Like a disease, fraud and bribery choke off sustainable political and economic development.
I APPLAUD the move by Star Media Group to partner with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ( MACC) in launching the “3J” Campaign. It stands for “Jangan Hulur, Jangan Kawtim, Jangan Settle” (Don’t Give and Don’t Settle).
It is part of the bigger initiative to bring the fight against corruption, via Gerakan Revolusi Anti-Rasuah (Gerah), to the people.
Corruption eradication programmes need crusaders. A media organisation has the setup and platform to do that.
People matter in fighting corruption. People Power is critical.
Nothing excites people more than news of high-profile individuals being investigated or charged for alleged corrupt practices. But screaming headlines won’t last.
Hauling them to court is one thing but for every suspect charged, there are many more who get away with murder, so to speak.
The law is not perfect. The system has loopholes.
It is not easy to prove one is corrupt. Many get away scot-free and live happily ever after with their ill-gotten gains.
That is why understanding the scourge is important for people. Creating awareness is key.
Corruption is not to be tolerated. The late Prof Syed Hussein Alatas, who wrote many books and essays on corruption, likened corruption to a disease than can sweep through a society like a tidal wave, leaving in its wake “a trail of negligence, lethargy, inefficiency and callous regard of man’s inhumanity to man”.
According to him, corruption is “victimising innocent people”.
He had been writing about corruption since the 1950s. Three of his important works on the subject are The Sociology of Corruption, The Problem of Corruption and Corruption: Its Nature, Causes and Functions.
Let’s face it, according to the World Bank, the cost of corruption equals more than 5% of global gross domestic product. It is estimated that over US$1 trillion (RM4.3 trillion) is paid in bribes each year.
Let’s ask ourselves what that much money can do for development or poverty eradication.
More alarming is the fact that one in seven people on Planet Earth today live in seriously corrupt countries.
Literature on corruption suggests that it is one of the main obstacles to sustainable political and economic development.
Corruption results in leakages of funds and resources.
According to the International Monetary Fund, on an average corruption increases the cost of doing business by 10%. In some countries in Africa, 25% of the GDP is lost to corruption.
In many cases, even aid for the poor is siphoned by corrupt government officials. Many among the poor could have untangled themselves from the yoke of poverty if they had access to aid.
We are all alarmed by these figures. We all agree that corruption reduces efficiency and increases inequality.
Studies have been made to prove the negative correlation between corruption and the quality of government, and how corruption jeopardises integrity and good governance as a whole.
Prof Syed Hussein was right when he wrote that we need to understand the entire mindset that allows the affliction to rage on.
In fact, he asked a very pertinent question: “How to stem the tide?” Even today, we don’t have the answers!
Closer to home, with recent arrests, the perception among our people is that MACC means business these days. MACC is showing its fangs of late. Perception matters.
But people also believe that all campaigns and tough talk achieve very little in the long run.
Charging a suspect is one thing; proving beyond reasonable doubt that one is corrupt in the court of law is never easy. That is why taking the fight to the people is important.
Malaysia’s ranking on the Corruption Perception Index dropped by one place (to 55 out of 176 countries) in 2016.
While there is a reason for concern, Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Akhbar Satar qualified at a press conference that the report ended August last year did not take into account significant arrests from September onwards. But remember, Malaysia was at 49 and 50 in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Corruption is blind to everything. It tempts everyone.
Being corrupt is a mental state. It is amazing how someone whose income can’t afford anything more expensive than a Honda Civic possesses a fleet of luxury cars, not to mention a million in cash and top-of-the-range watches.
Apparently “showing off ” is part of the Malaysian Dream. Some people simply are irresistible exhibitionists.
In 1956, the legendary Hindi actor Raj Kapoor played the part of a peasant who came to a city in search of a better life.
As the naïve person that he was, while trying to quench his thirst he was suspected as a thief.
In a corrupt city, an innocent man became the victim.
The movie Jagte Raho (literally, Stay Awake) depicts how rampant corruption and debilitating poverty dehumanised people. Luckily for Kapoor, he escaped unscathed. But the system remains.
It was a wake-up call back then, and it should jolt us even now. Six decades after the movie, corruption is still bedevilling humanity.
In fact, with new sophistication, corruptors have upped the ante.
Johan Jaaffar was a journalist, editor and for some years chairman of a media company, and is passionate about all things literature and the arts. The views expressed here are entirely his own.
Charging a suspect is one thing; proving beyond reasonable doubt that one is corrupt in the court of law is never easy. That is why taking the fight to the people is important.