‘The corrupt must be punished’
Dr M: Different level of corruption needs different kind of sentence
LONDON: Corrupt people must be punished but in Malaysia, the situation has not reached a stage where the corrupt should be sentenced to life imprisonment, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“They might be jailed. How long they need to be jailed depends on the extent of the corruption, and I think different levels of corruption need different punishments.
“But we have not reached the stage of having to sentence people for life,” he said.
Dr Mahathir was responding to a question on whether he supported the death penalty for corrupt leaders after he delivered a lecture on “The Challenge of Good Governance in the Muslim World” at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies on Monday.
Those found guilty of corruption by the courts in Malaysia would be sentenced to jail, he said, adding in some countries they would actually shoot to kill corrupt people but it would not solve the problem.
In his lecture, which touched on Muslim nations and the democratic system, Dr Mahathir said Muslim countries adopting the democratic system needed to spend more time to understand the workings of democracy.
“If you don’t understand that in a democracy the vote is powerful, then you cannot have a democratic system,” he said, adding in such Muslim countries, they were much more comfortable with the system of monarchy.
The transition to the democratic
system, he said, had brought disaster to some Muslim countries.
“Every time they try for a democratic system, there will be fighting among them and the countries can be almost destroyed,” he said.
In a democratic system, he said, people chose the government and supported the government for a period of time.
“However, in some Muslim countries, they cannot wait for the term to be over and want to change immediately after the election,” he said.
“It’s time for them to respect the vote and set up a government which
uses power for the betterment of the country and people.”
Dr Mahathir said Malaysia was a Muslim country which adopted the democratic system, although only 60% of its population were Muslim and the people were loyal to the Rulers.
The system somehow worked because the people in Malaysia seemed to find that while they had their Rulers they could also have a democratic system, he said during the lecture.
“We don’t like violence. We don’t overthrow a government until the government changes by itself,” he
said, drawing laughter from the floor.
On his maiden visit to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in 1996, Dr Mahathir had delivered the memorable lecture on “Islam, the Misunderstood Religion”.
Since its founding in 1985, the centre has invited many leading figures to speak on matters related to the Islamic world.
At its new premises, the facility has a number of dedicated lecture spaces, including the Malaysia auditorium, to allow for further development of its programmes. — Bernama