Adopting Moderate And Simple Lifestyle Can Help Combat Corruption

by Dr Chandra Muzaffar KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Bernama) -- The New Straits Times (NST) has done an excellent job in exposing organised, entrenched corruption at several border checkpoints in the country. Its investigation has revealed that because corruption is rife and rampant among those entrusted with managing the checkpoints, there is massive smuggling of various goods and commodities from rice and flour to RON 95 petrol and diesel. As a result of this, millions of ringgit is lost in revenue every year. What can be done to curb border corruption? It has been proposed that personnel in the enforcement agencies concerned should be rotated more frequently, and in certain instances, their salaries and promotional opportunities improved. There is also a strong case for expanding the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), especially increasing the number of its investigating officers. More importantly, there should be firm, tough action against the corrupt. Custodial sentences should be enhanced and ill-gotten gains confiscated. The practice of merely transferring a corrupt officer to another department or state should cease. From the highest to the lowest echelon of the various agencies and services, it should be understood clearly by everyone that if a person is caught for graft his head would be chopped off -- in the figurative sense. To chop off heads, strong-willed leadership is vital. Leaders at all levels should not only act with courage and conviction against the corrupt; they themselves should be clean, honest and upright. Study after study has shown that upright leaders who are fair and firm are perhaps the single most critical factor in the war against corruption. At the same time, there should be more systematic and concerted attempts to raise awareness of the causes, characteristics and consequences of corruption within the general populace. Since 2004, the Institut Integriti Malaysia has undertaken this task. Thousands of individuals in the public and private sectors have participated in, and benefited from, IIM programmes. In building public awareness of the scourge of corruption and the importance of integrity, Malaysia has a built-in advantage. It can draw upon the philosophies of the different religions and cultures to instil a deep sense of aversion and abhorrence towards corruption among the people. That all these philosophies celebrate honesty and trustworthiness is not only a positive factor in curbing venality in all its manifestations but also a valuable asset in our endeavour to forge unity and harmony in our multi-religious and multi-cultural society. Indeed, a shared commitment to integrity transcending religion and culture could well become one of the most outstanding attributes of 1Malaysia. In this regard, it is disappointing that in the last two or three decades it is another, unintended face of 1Malaysia that has emerged. From the countless cases of the corrupt and the crooked that we have been exposed to, it is obvious that wrongdoers are found in all communities, without exception. In a peevish way, it illustrates that vice, like virtue, is also multi-religious and multi-cultural! If 1Malaysia has yet to project the beautiful face of integrity, it is partly because there is a pronounced tendency among the corrupt to rationalise their misdeeds. This would be true for instance of the rank-and-file in many of the enforcement agencies including those at border checkpoints. They convince themselves that they are justified in doing what they are doing i) because they are caught in a web that is not of their own making, or ii) because they are earning so little compared to others who are also corrupt, or iii) because the corrupt who are well-connected are well protected, or iv) because there is a lack of rectitude among the affluent and opulent in the upper strata of society that those who take small bribes are not really harming society. To counter these rationalisations which occur in many other societies as well, we must emphasise not only the primacy of individual responsibility -- that every human being is accountable for his own action -- but also examine the impact of society as a whole upon corruption. The well-connected should be pursued and punished with much greater zeal than the weak and the poor. Selective action against the corrupt only encourages more corruption. Likewise, wealth should be more equitably distributed and the widening gap between the have-a-lot and the have-a-little bridged as effectively as possible. There is ample evidence to show that economic and social justice helps to curb corruption. Equally crucial, moderation and simplicity -- rather than extravagance and lavishness --- should be the hallmark of elite lifestyles. When those in the upper strata lead modest lives, others down the line will have less justification to resort to corrupt acts in order to indulge in luxury. What this means is that to combat corruption at the borders, the apex has to set the example. (Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of 1Malaysia Foundation). -- BERNAMA