Aliran: Corruption, cost of living, and the need for good governance — by John Inbaraj

Corruption, cost of living, and the need for good governance — John Inbaraj

Aliran, April 10, 2011

 

APRIL 10 — The Star reported, “[a] Customs director had millions of ringgit spread over several bank accounts. Another had almost 1 million. Two others had between 500,000 and 850,000 ringgit.” Not only that, gold bars, bags of cash, luxury watches and posh cars were among the goods involved in raids that resulted in 62 officers arrested for under declaration of duties and tax evasion (April 3, 2011, “Ill-gotten stash”).

To be more specific, about RM10 billion has been smuggled out or remitted overseas. Customs officers had also admitted to collecting RM100-500 for every declaration form (K1) submitted and approved (an act that s been openly going on for decades).

And RM108 billion has been estimated lost annually in unpaid duties and income tax. One officer had gold bars in his house while another had RM600,000 cash in several bags in his house.

Do we congratulate the MACC for some great work or do we condemn the government and the MACC for their continuous inefficiency to tackle corruption to such a drastic extent?

Recently, Idris Jala, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, reiterated that excessive government subsidies had threatened to make the country bankrupt by 2019! These subsidies are small amounts compared to the billions lost in corrupt practices.

It is impossible to understand how the Prime Minister’s Department in particular and the government in general can tolerate such brazen corruption. It is even more difficult to understand why there are people still voting for the same government.

The standard of living among Malaysians has reportedly gone up. But the reality is that the cost of living has also gone up tremendously. A green apple costs over RM1 and a kilo of infant formula milk is in the region of RM25.

The government rates hardcore poverty level income for at RM440 per month for a household. These figures tell us that people are still living under “poverty” conditions due to the high inflation rate in relation to their monthly income.

Is this reality a reflection of lack of enforcement in government or has corruption become institutionalised in the government?

Do you remember the day when Dr Mahathir Mohamad blasted the then Auditor-General Ahmad Noordin for highlighting Bank Negara’s dabbling in the global foreign exchange market, which eventually resulted in RM10 billion in losses?

Dr Mahathir delivered a body blow to the credibility of the auditor general and his report. Such an act highlighted serious shortcoming in our government system, especially in tackling corruption. What has become of the respect for the auditor general and his annual report remains unanswered. Has anyone been charged for overpaid screwdrivers and car jacks?

Another incident in the recent past involved the supply of goods and services to the army and police departments. The suppliers were charged for delivering sub-standard goods and services. Under normal practices, quotations are requested from suppliers and samples are reviewed before an order is placed.

The goods are checked by the receiving departments — in this case, the police and the army — for conformance of quality and quantity before an acknowledgement of receipt is issued. Why was the charge targeted at the suppliers and not the police and army departments? Were there any insiders nabbed and charged?

There are many unresolved issues in the conduct of particular agencies in this matter. Such blatant condoning of wrongdoings has encouraged corrupt practices across the length and breadth of this country.

Enforcement has lost its place in the fight against corruption. The RM108 billion losses alone bear testimony to this. This figure represents only a fraction of losses in the Customs Department. What colossal figures are we talking about if we include other relevant authorities and numerous other agencies and commissions?

The inefficiency in governance also takes place at a micro level. On roads, the demerit system is in shambles. Summonses are issued with no proper tracking of settlement. Accidents are aplenty but all is blamed on the drivers’ attitudes. But when a traffic offence is met with quick police action, would it not deter offenders?

In fact the reverse is true. When someone who follows the law ends up becoming the victim in time and time again, would it not frustrate that individual and force him or her to breaking road regulations? Queue-jumpers do so without a care and by the thousands. Authorities keep shouting. Why not just catch them?

The rich get richer while the poor struggle to make ends meet. Housing prices have gone haywire. Many who were born and lived in landed properties have moved to high-rise properties that have no proper laws or enforcement. Criminal acts and gangsterism have soared; this is especially evident among the younger generation due to the work schedule of their parents’ 12-hour days to feed their families.

Imagine what the RM108 billion (plus the yet undetected billions) can do to help alleviate the suffering of the poor.

To the prime minister of acronyms, I urge you to forget all of them (GTP, ETP etc, etc). I propose WOC (Wipe Out Corruption) and ELC (Enforce the Laws of the Country). — aliran.com

Malay Mail: Angkasa taken to court.... By Frankie D'Cruz and Nadirah H. Rodzi,

Angkasa taken to court

Posted on 11 February 2011
By Frankie D'Cruz and Nadirah H. Rodzi, The Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR: Crisis-ridden apex cooperative movement Angkatan Koperasi Malaysia (Angkasa) — with a membership of close to eight million — has been slammed with a suit by five cooperatives alleging criminal breach of trust, mismanagement, misappropriation and abuse of power by eight key officials.

The five cooperatives have alleged the officials of Angkasa had cost the national cooperative organisation of Malaysia, that has 7,688 cooperatives under its wings, to suffer losses running into millions of ringgit.

The suit was filed amid a claim this morning by the Adviser to the Cooperative Union of Malaysia, Thuraisingham Shun, that 75 per cent of civil servants were in debt with financial institutions over various loans.

He said the figure, suggested by a Universiti Malaya economist, was a further indicator that Angkasa was in shambles and that today’s suit was a move to revamp the body.

Shun said Angkasa’s operations should be suspended and the accounts frozen until the court has made a decision. The officials implicated are Angkasa president Prof Datuk Mohd Ali Bahrum, Datuk Fatah Abdullah (deputy president), Armi Zainuddin Mutadho Bahri, Jamal Abdullah (all vice-presidents), chief executive officer Nasir Khan Yahya, executive secretary Mohd Zamri Yaakob and chief accountant Suresh Kumar.

The plaintiffs are Koperasi Rangkaian Sahabat Dungun Bhd, Koperasi Insan Bantu Insan Kuala Lumpur Bhd, Koperasi Konsortium Kontraktor Bumiputera Bhd, Koperasi Pembangunan Melayu Raub Berhad and Koperasi Pengurusan Tanah Malaysia Bhd.

The cooperatives filed an originating summons with the Kuala Lumpur High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) this morning seeking a declaration to suspend the officials for allegedly:

● taking more than a million ringgit in allowances for attending board meetings from 2007-2009. The president was accused of taking RM155,118 in 2008.

● failing in their fiduciary responsibilities in the purchase of a land in Kelana Jaya and causing a loss of RM6.5 million in the deal with Malaysian Association of Productivity.

● approving and spending RM500,000 for a delegates’ conference, including allowances, in 2009 in violation of by-laws.

● spending RM1.27 million to buy seven Toyota Camry for their personal use just before Hari Raya last year while only RM400,000 was authorised for that purpose.

● approving and spending RM500,000 over and above the sanctioned budget of RM1.5 million in 2009 without permission.

● abusing their powers in suspending three members of the State liaison committee for three years.

● paying unauthorised allowances to officials of the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission, and other government officials who attended several board meetings. These payments were viewed as corruption.

● making false media statements that Angkasa had made a profit of RM2 billion for the financial year ending 30th June 2010.

Fatah and Muhtadho were also said to have failed to relinquish their positions at the ensuing annual general meeting after they were appointed to fill the vacant position of vice-president temporarily following the demise of the former president Datuk Rahim Bakar in 2009.

In the supporting affidavit, a director of Koperasi Rangkaian Sahabat Dungun, Datuk Seri Noor Zainan Zainul, said despite reports to the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission, no action had been taken by the defendants to resolve the issues.

The cooperatives, through their lawyers, applied to the court to suspend the entire board and requested for a court administrator to manage the affairs of Angkasa.

They also sought a forensic audit to ascertain the true financial situation in Angkasa and refer the findings to a special general meeting.

Noor Zainan led four representatives of the other cooperatives to file the affidavit through their lawyer Moghan Muthiah at 10.30am.

Shun later told reporters the five cooperatives would file a certificate of urgency for speedy hearing of the matter.

He said the affected co-operatives had sent a letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Jan 31 and were hoping to meet him to address the state of cooperatives in the country.

Angkasa, registered in May 1971, is recognised by the government as the national apex body of cooperative organisations.

malaysiakini: Malaysia is world's No 5 in illicit outflows

Malaysia is world's No 5 in illicit outflows

Jan 20, 11 1:11pm

Malaysia is among the countries which registered the highest illicit financial outflows over a period of nine years in the last decade.

According to a ground-breaking report by Washington-based financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI), money flows out of Malaysia have more than tripled from 2000 to 2008.

The outflow from Malaysia in 2000 was RM67.7 billion (US$22.2 billion). Eight years later, this has ballooned to RM208 billion ($68.2 billion).

The report warned that the sharp increase of capital flight in Malaysia is “at a scale seen in few Asian countries”.

It said that it was difficult to point out the reasons behind this massive outflow of illicit capital - estimated at RM889 billion (US$291 billion) between 2000 and 2008 - without carrying out an in-depth study of Malaysia, which is outside the scope of the report.

“It is clear however that significant governance issues affecting both the public and private sectors have been playing a key role in the cross-border transfer of illicit capital from the country.

“For instance, there are reports in the Malaysian media that large state-owned enterprises such as Petronas could probably be driving illicit flows.”

The financial watchdog said that its research has indicated that political instability, rising income inequality and pervasive corruption are some of the structural and governance issues that could be driving illicit capital from many developing countries.

“In the case of Malaysia, the additional factor could well be the significant discrimination in labour markets which move people and unrecorded capital out of the country.

“As a result of some of these factors, the volume of illegal capital flight from Malaysia has come to dwarf legitimate capital inflows into the country in recent years.”

The GFI report, 'Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries', is penned by GFI economists Karly Curcio and Dev Kar, who is a former senior economist at the International Monetary Fund.

China tops the chart

China tops the chart among the world's exporters of illicit capital with a whopping US$2.8 trillion of outflows, followed by Russia (US$427 billion), Mexico (US$416 billion), Saudi Arabia (US$302 billion) and Malaysia (US$291 billion).

Other Asian countries with high illegal capital flight are Philippines ($109 billion), Indonesia ($104 billion) and India ($104 billion).

GFI has identified deliberate trade mispricing - which allows companies to avoid paying taxes - as the major source of the illicit outflows.

“Trade mispricing was found to account for an average of 54.7 percent of cumulative illicit flows from developing countries over the period 2000-2008 and is the major channel for the transfer of illicit capital from China.”

However, bribery and theft are also major reasons for the outflows in many countries.

“Bribery, theft, kickbacks and tax evasion were the greatest conduit for the illicit financial flows from the major exporters of oil such as Kuwait, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.”

The report found that about US$1 trillion flows out from developing countries to rich countries each year - a situation which resulted in many of these countries remaining perpetually poor.

GFI offers a silver bullet solution to stem the illicit financial outflows from developing countries - greater transparency.

“Increasing transparency in the global financial system is critical to reducing the outflow of illicit money from developing countries.”

malaysiakini: Malaysia's lost decade... by Josh Hong

Malaysia's lost decade

Josh Hong
malaysiakini: Dec 31, 2010, 2:24pm

After much dithering, I picked up the courage 10 years ago this month to return to Malaysia. Prior to that, I had spent a good 11 years in London, where the 'miserable comfort' was both real and surreal to me.

I knew I had to put up with some serious miseries in Kuala Lumpur: horrible traffic congestion, notoriously disorganised public transport, and an economic 'miracle' that had been brought to its knees by the financial crisis in the late 1990s.

But there were hopes too. The general elections in November 1999 had dealt a severe blow to Mahathir Mohamad's autocratic and megalomaniac style of government, while a new political course was struggling to make its voice heard, one that was no longer premised on race and the feudalistic loyalty that it demanded, but on one's civic duties as a dignified citizen that respect the rule of law, fair play and justice.

In other words, I wanted to see the end of the Mahathir regime, which was plain racist, arbitrary and corrupt to the core, and see it replaced with an alternative that truly championed the people's causes. Ten years on, my initial hopes have largely evaporated.

Since Mahathir's 'retirement' in late 2003, we have had two more prime ministers, but neither of them has grasped the opportunity to reform the country root and branch.

If anything, political culture in the country has only gone from bad to worse. Malaysian politics is divisive; it always has been. But it was the power-crazy Mahathir whose 22 years of rule that had sharpened the religious, ethnic and class differences. Every time when his power was threatened, Mahathir showed no qualms of resorting to racist and communal politics for survival.

Throughout the last decade, there was one word that made the most frequent appearance in the Malay press: pengkhianat (either of bangsa or Negara). 

 

Whenever Umno is pressed against the wall, the party leadership is quick to accuse its detractor of being an ingrate or a running dog to a foreign power. This is a tried and tested formula, engendered by Mahathir and perfected by his successors. Their latest tactic is to hide behind the Malay rulers, oblivious to the fact that national/religious/racial is no substitute for our dignity as individuals who cherish freedom.

Mahathir brought in Anwar Ibrahim in 1982 to shore up Umno's Islamic 'credentials', and did not hesitate to demonise PAS throughout the 1980s and the 1990s. Extremism begets extremism, and one would only expect the opponents to fight back with more vigour and determination, hence the increasingly conservative religious climate across the Peninsula. Soon, Sabah and Sarawak will succumb to it if Umno has its way.

The aftermath of pandering PMs

Both Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak have failed to respond to this. Instead of putting the nation (or are we a nation in its classical sense?) back on the secular track as envisioned by the Federal Constitution, Mahathir's successors have only managed to pander further to the religionists, albeit in a different way.

Religious authorities are now emboldened to threaten members of the public, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. People like Azwan Ismail risk becoming social outcasts unless they keep their true identity hidden. Meanwhile, removing non-Islamic symbols is an unwritten requirement if one desires the prime minister to grace one's religious occasion.

In the event of lack of public support and state protection, I would suggest Azwan to emigrate. Facing threat from naked religious power and confronted with an indifferent society, emigration is always the safest bet.

This is not a time to engage in scholarly or religious debate over the issue of sexuality when one's life is at risk. No fiddling when the weak minorities are being cursed, please.

As for non-Muslim bodies, there is one simple way to save yourselves the dilemma of having to avoid using religious signage: stop inviting politicians for religious functions.

After all, it is not the presence of the prime minister that saves one's soul. If one insists on such feudal practice, then be prepared to live with the humiliation and stop complaining.

At the societal level, ethnic divisions have only become more visible. Every single issue can conveniently become tinged with racial or religious colour, and the public's attention is easily shifted. Despite the March 2008 political tsunami, people on the street now only feel more alienated from each other.

Corruption maggots' endless feast
Yes, Teoh Beng Hock died a tragic death, and it is only right that all conscientious Malaysians are aggrieved by it.

But there are many more innocent deaths too, such as that of Gunasegaran and Aminulrasyid Amzah, and it is time that we have a concerted and nationwide effort to bring justice to their bereaved families. Sadly, cross-ethnic solidarity remains slow in coming.

Finally, none of our leaders has demonstrated the actual will to root out corruption and overhaul our economic structure. The appointment of Mohd Isa Samad, the tainted former menteri besar of Negri Sembilan, as Felda chairman is the latest case in point.

Furthermore, our economy remains anchored in the fraternity between tycoons (predominantly Chinese but increasingly multiracial) and the ruling elite. The 'loveable rich' pledge their allegiance to Umnoputras in return for economic favours, required by the 'political and economic architecture to bribe as well as to lobby', as described by Joe Studwell in Asian Godfathers.


The end result is the rapidly widening inter and intra ethnic income gap evidenced by the mushrooming of modern condos and service apartments in Malaysian cities that cater mostly to the super-rich. Liew Kee Sin of S P Setia Bhd., a top property developer, has indeed thrived under the New Economic Policy, but he does not speak for the majority of Malaysians who merely eke out a living.

Still, it is nearly an insurmountable task to make this raw reality plain to the general public (the Malays especially) because of Umno's media manipulation and its camouflaging of class dominance with ethno-populism.

Tony Benn, a British Labour veteran and a staunch socialist, attributed Britain's social malaise in the 1980s to Margaret Thatcher's philosophy that measured 'the price of everything and the value of nothing'. Listen to his excellent speech in Parliament, and one will be astounded to know how much the issues elaborated by Benn are relevant to Malaysia's lost decade.

What would become of Malaysia in the next decade to come? I certainly hope I will live long enough to see it. Happy New Year!

TMI: Moving to the next level.... By Jema Khan

Moving to the next level

By Jema Khan

TMI: December 06, 2010

DEC 6 — The four key strategic thrusts of the New Economic Model (NEM) are continued economic liberalisation, a social safety net for employees, bureaucratic reforms and ensuring social cohesion and inclusiveness. These are all noble ideas but they will remain so unless we can effectively implement what we plan.

To do this, we will need human talent more than anything else and that unfortunately we sorely lack. At the same time, we are driving many of our best and brightest away because we are unable to provide them with an environment that they can feel comfortable in.

We actually turn people off. I list below some of the major things that we as a nation should not be doing:

1. We should not cane women.

2. We should not discriminate based on a person’s sexual preference.

3. We cannot tell people what they should call their own God.

4. We do not say or insinuate that our own people are foreigners when they are clearly not: especially when derogatory words are used.

5. We cannot allow people to abuse the religion of Islam, just so they can get custody of their children when things don’t work out with their wife whom they married under a different religion.

6. We do not abuse other people’s religion by damaging their places of worship.

7. We cannot allow our children to have sub-par education when we know what the world requires of us.

8. We cannot accept that corruption is a way of life.

9. We cannot accept that by being lazy and doing nothing: we have a right because of race, to the wealth of this nation.

10. We cannot be expected to listen to idiots with so-called positions when we are clearly way smarter than they are.

The whole world is chasing talent and many countries are able to provide much better pay, better working conditions as well as a liberal social environment. We can, of course, live in denial and make all sorts of claims about how good and great we are, but if that is the case, we will not be making much progress in attracting talent.

It is really a catch-22 situation with the NEM. For it to succeed we need to have the talent in place but to attract the talent we need for the NEM to be already working. We need companies and institutions that can train our best and brightest to a world class standard and that I fear we sorely lack.

What we need are teams of talented people with some experience abroad to take over the running of our major companies and institutions so that they will be able to change the work culture in these organisations and bring them up to the mark.

Too often, when only one talented person enters a senior position in an organisation to change its culture, it is that person that bends to the existing culture in the organisation and not the other way around. So I advocate a team of talented people going in, having full control of both management and the board of directors, with a clear view to change the organisational culture.

Resistance to change is practically the default setting in most mediocre organisations so there will always be conflicts but so long as those coming in are honest, hardworking and intelligent, they will be able to make the change for the better.

As an example, if we want to better the education system in Malaysia, we do not ask the teachers what they can teach. We tell them what to teach to bring up our standards. If they are unable, we retrain them: if they are still unable, we remove them. The most important stakeholders in this example are the children and their parents: it is their interests and future that are paramount.

We plan to move to the next level up but if we are not realistic in our dire need for the best talent, don’t be surprised if we remain static or even worse move down a level.

CORRUPTION: The Pass Mark Eludes Malaysia... by Tunku Abdul Aziz

CORRUPTION: The Pass Mark Eludes Malaysia

by Tunku Abdul Aziz

Judged internationally, by almost every performance indicator known to man, Malaysia is a duffer, and that is putting it charitably. Our report card is drowning in a sea of red ink. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index just released shows Malaysia scoring 4.4 points at number 56 out of 178 countries surveyed.

Many have questioned the methodology used and have gone so far as to suggest developing our own index. But let me just say this. Whatever we may think, the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index enjoys a reputation second to none as the world’s most authoritative index of its kind.

A similar sentiment has been expressed about the world’s top universities index. Shoot the bearer of bad news and retreat to hide under our tempurung and croak our lungs out for the entire world to hear about our version of Malaysia’s achievements. We have become a nation of bad losers.

When Datuk Anwar Fazal, Raja Aziz Addruse, Datuk Param Cumaraswamy and other like minded men and women of the highest integrity met in the Royal Commonwealth Society one night many years ago to discuss forming the Malaysian Chapter of Transparency International Malaysia, they had seen enough, and had become greatly concerned at the speed with which corruption in national life had destroyed the moral fabric and consumed the very soul of our people. It was not the easiest of undertakings to operate an anti-corruption non-governmental organisation during Mahathir’s corrupt and repressive regime.

The Registrar of Societies in this case was helpful, and much to our delight, approved our application. TI owes its existence to Tan Sri Hassan Marican, then President of PETRONAS a highly principled servant of this country. He invited me to lunch in my capacity as President of TI and said, not five minutes into the meal, that he would like to support our work, and how much would I need? I responded by saying I was not interested in a one off grant, but long term support. I asked for very little, not wanting to be greedy. He agreed. I understand the PETRONAS support continues today, with no strings attached.

In the years since the TICPI made its appearance in 1995, two years after Transparency International was founded, Malaysia has very rarely achieved the minimum pass mark of 5 points. We used to be ahead of South Korea regularly, and in Asia were for years only behind Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. What all this shows is that we have regressed to a point that corruption in our country is no longer just a fact of life, but it has graduated to become a way of life.

When we look closely at the countries that are perceived to be among the least corrupt, we find they are invariably well governed and that there is a correlation between good governance and competitiveness. These countries realise only too well that corruption if unchecked will distort and destroy their moral values and value systems and, sooner rather than later, their economies.

The symptoms of moral decay is everywhere in this country. It never ceases to amaze me at the naivety of our government leaders that they think that mere rhetorical expressions of good intentions to fight corruption could camouflage the unbridled systemic subversion of the country’s mechanisms of checks and balances and other institutions of government as part of our constitutional arrangements to protect the rights of our citizens.

Mahathir’s had a cynical view of his stewardship, a concept totally alien to him. He set about destroying, like a man possessed, what he saw as constitutional or legal impediments to his personal and political ambitions. His legacy to Malaysia is best described as a lasting and deeply entrenched culture of corruption that this country will be saddled with for all time unless we, the citizens, take matters into our own hands and vote the corrupt government of the day out of office. Do it before it becomes a case of too little, too late.

In the meantime, my advice to Najib is to stop playing the silly games much loved by Abdullah Badawi, the keeper turned poacher. He put up a slew of anti-corruption showpieces such as the National Institute of Integrity, the Royal Commission inquiring into the Royal Malaysia Police, and new anti-corruption laws to support the work of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, all nothing more than a sleight of hand that has fooled no one, with predictable results. Badawi’s exercise was both dishonest and costly, and as the latest TICPI shows, corruption has the last laugh.

In a speech I made in 2001 at the Asian Development Bank-organised conference in Phnom Penh, I reminded my audience that “Even before we contemplate any action against corruption, it is important for us to recognise the special and complex circumstances that give rise to it.

Studies show that a common cause of corruption is a lack of strong and unsullied government institutions, such as the judiciary, the legislature, the office of the auditor-general, the police, the office of the attorney general, the media, civil society organisations and the private sector.”

In Malaysia, sadly, Mahathir has succeeded brilliantly in doing his foul deed. None of these important institutions can any longer even justify their existence and they have become part of the problem of corruption. “The main purpose of developing strong institutions is to prevent corruption from occurring in the first place rather than relying on penalties after the event” according to Jeremy Pope in his TI Source Book 2000.

The Executive can change the hitherto negative international perceptions and at the same time exercise greater legitimacy to govern by making it mandatory for all holding elected public office, including the prime minister, to declare their assets and those of their wives and immediate families to an all party parliamentary commission.

Other areas of concern relate to issues of integrity of the various key national institutions. Public procurement as practised in our country breeds grand corruption and is one of the reasons why we score badly in overall terms.

The Official Secrets Act protects the corrupt and must be replaced with a Freedom of Information Act. It would be extremely important to bring new, intelligent and untainted blood into the MACC which at the moment seems to have run out of steam before the whistle to commence play is blown. It must report to an all party parliamentary commission.

While we want those who commit corruption to be suitable punished, this must be done within the scope of the existing judicial practice. The idea as suggested by TI Malaysia President that for the MACC to operate effectively, it must be given the power to prosecute is dangerous as it shows a lack of understanding of what constitutes justice. What is implied in this preposterous idea is that we abandon all principles of fairness and fair play so that the MACC could trample on our justice system with impunity. Enough is enough.

Early next month I will be speaking in Sydney, Australia at the annual conference of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association on, no prize for guessing, my favourite subject, Overcoming Corruption: A Regional Challenge. I will have a field day calling a spade a spade. I hope I will not be accused of disloyalty to my country, but if telling the truth is treachery, so be it.

What the Chinese want By Kee Thuan Chye

What the Chinese want

Sun, 02 May 2010 10:10

 

By Kee Thuan Chye

COMMENT Every time the Barisan Nasional gets less than the expected support from Chinese voters at an election, the question invariably pops up among the petty-minded: Why are the Chinese ungrateful?

 

So now, after the Hulu Selangor by-election, it’s not surprising to read in Utusan Malaysia a piece that asks: “Orang Cina Malaysia, apa lagi yang anda mahu?” (Chinese of Malaysia, what more do you want?)

Normally, something intentionally provocative and propagandistic as this doesn’t deserve to be honoured with a reply. But even though I’m fed up of such disruptive and ethnocentric polemics, this time I feel obliged to reply – partly because the article has also been published, in an English translation, in the Straits Times of Singapore.

I wish to emphasise here that I am replying not as a Chinese Malaysian but, simply, as a Malaysian.

Let me say at the outset that the Chinese have got nothing more than what any citizen should get. So to ask “what more” it is they want, is misguided. A correct question would be “What do the Chinese want?”

All our lives, we Chinese have held to the belief that no one owes us a living. We have to work for it. Most of us have got where we are by the sweat of our brow, not by handouts or the policies of the government.

We have come to expect nothing – not awards, not accolades, not gifts from official sources. (Let’s not lump in Datukships, that’s a different ball game.) We know that no Chinese who writes in the Chinese language will ever be bestowed the title of Sasterawan Negara, unlike in Singapore where the literatures of all the main language streams are recognised and honoured with the Cultural Medallion, etc.

We have learned we can’t expect the government to grant us scholarships. Some will get those, but countless others won’t. We’ve learned to live with that and to work extra hard in order to support our children to attain higher education – because education is very important to us. We experience a lot of daily pressure to achieve that. Unfortunately, not many non-Chinese realise or understand that. In fact, many Chinese had no choice but to emigrate for the sake of their children’s further education. Or to accept scholarships from abroad, many from Singapore, which has inevitably led to a brain drain.

The writer of the Utusan article says the Chinese “account for most of the students” enrolled in “the best private colleges in Malaysia”. Even so, the Chinese still have to pay a lot of money to have their children study in these colleges. And to earn that money, the parents have to work very hard. The money does not fall from the sky.

The writer goes on to add: “The Malays can gain admission into only government-owned colleges of ordinary reputation.” That is utter nonsense. Some of these colleges are meant for the cream of the Malay crop of students and are endowed with the best facilities. They are given elite treatment.

The writer also fails to acknowledge that the Chinese are barred from being admitted to some of these colleges. As a result, the Chinese are forced to pay more money to go to private colleges. Furthermore, the Malays are also welcome to enrol in the private colleges, and many of them do. It’s, after all, a free enterprise.

Plain and simple reason

The writer claims that the Chinese live “in the lap of luxury” and lead lives that are “more than ordinary” whereas the Malays in Singapore, their minority-race counterparts there, lead “ordinary lives”. Such sweeping statements sound inane especially when they are not backed up by definitions of “lap of luxury” and “ordinary lives”. They sound hysterical, if not hilarious as well, when they are not backed up by evidence. It’s surprising that a national daily like Utusan Malaysia would publish something as idiosyncratic as that. And the Straits Times too.

The writer quotes from a survey that said eight of the 10 richest people in Malaysia are Chinese. Well, if these people are where they are, it must have also come from hard work and prudent business sense. Is that something to be faulted?

If the writer had said that some of them achieved greater wealth through being given crony privileges and lucrative contracts by the government, there might be a point, but even then, it would still take hard work and business acumen to secure success. Certainly, Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, who is one of the 10, would take exception if it were said that he has not worked hard and lacks business savvy.

Most important, it should be noted that the eight Chinese tycoons mentioned in the survey represent but a minuscule percentage of the wider Chinese Malaysian population. To extrapolate that because eight Chinese are filthy rich, the rest of the Chinese must therefore live in the lap of luxury and lead more than ordinary lives would be a mockery of the truth. The writer has obviously not met the vast numbers of very poor Chinese.

The crux of the writer’s article is that the Chinese are not grateful to the government by not voting for Barisan Nasional at the Hulu Selangor by-election. But this demonstrates the thinking of either a simple mind or a closed one.

Why did the Chinese by and large not vote for BN? Because it’s corrupt. Plain and simple. Let’s call a spade a spade. And BN showed how corrupt it was during the campaign by throwing bribes to the electorate, including promising RM3 million to the Chinese school in Rasa.

The Chinese were not alone in seeing this corruption. The figures are unofficial but one could assume that at least 40 per cent of Malays and 45 per cent of Indians who voted against BN in that by-election also had their eyes open.

So, what’s wrong with not supporting a government that is corrupt? If the government is corrupt, do we continue to support it?

To answer the question then, what do the Chinese want? They want a government that is not corrupt; that can govern well and proves to have done so; that tells the truth rather than lies; that follows the rule of law; that upholds rather than abuses the country’s sacred institutions. BN does not fit that description, so the Chinese don’t vote for it. This is not what only the Chinese want. It is something every sensible Malaysian, regardless of race, wants. Is that something that is too difficult to understand?

Some people think that the government is to be equated with the country, and therefore if someone does not support the government, they are being disloyal to the country. This is a complete fallacy. BN is not Malaysia. It is merely a political coalition that is the government of the day. Rejecting BN is not rejecting the country.

A sense of belonging

Let’s be clear about this important distinction. In America, the people sometimes vote for the Democrats and sometimes for the Republicans. Voting against the one that is in government at the time is not considered disloyalty to the country.

By the same token, voting against Umno is also voting against a party, not against a race. And if the Chinese or whoever criticise Umno, they are criticising the party; they are not criticising Malays. It just happens that Umno’s leaders are Malay.

It is time all Malaysians realised this so that we can once and for all dispel the confusion. Let us no more confuse country with government. We can love our country and at the same time hate the government. It is perfectly all right.

I should add here what the Chinese don’t want. We don’t want to be insulted, to be called pendatang, or told to be grateful for our citizenship. We have been loyal citizens; we duly and dutifully pay taxes; we respect the country’s constitution and its institutions. Our forefathers came to this country generations ago and helped it to prosper. We are continuing to contribute to the country's growth and development.

Would anyone like to be disparaged, made to feel unwelcome, unwanted? For the benefit of the writer of the Utusan article, what MCA president Chua Soi Lek means when he says the MCA needs to be more vocal is that it needs to speak up whenever the Chinese community is disparaged. For too long, the MCA has not spoken up strongly enough when Umno politicians and associates like Ahmad Ismail, Nasir Safar, Ahmad Noh and others before them insulted the Chinese and made them feel like they don’t belong. That’s why the Chinese have largely rejected the MCA.

You see, the Chinese, like all human beings, want self-respect. And a sense of belonging in this country they call home. That is all the Chinese want, and have always wanted. Nothing more.

 

The Utusan Malaysia article:

Orang Cina Malaysia, apa lagi yang anda mahu?

Stand Up for Justice by William Leong Jee Keen, Selayang MP

Stand Up for Justice
by William Leong Jee Keen, Member of Parliament for Selayang
February 12, 2010
 

On February 2, 2010, the battle for Malaysia moved into a decisive phase, the trial of Anwar Ibrahim. Although Anwar Ibrahim is in the dock, Malaysians are on trial .

Malaysians are put to the test.

Do Malaysians want Ketuanan Melayu or Ketuanan Rakyat ?

Are Malaysians prepared to pay the price for change ?

Are Malaysians prepared to fight for change ?

Malaysians have to decide whether to act or allow our institutions to be perverted for political ends.

Malaysians have to decide whether they want democracy, equality and liberty enough to fight for them.
Malaysians are tested on their will to fight.

Will we find the going too difficult ?

Will we find it easier, more convenient and expedient to accept rampant corruption, abuse of power and oppression ?

Anwar was fully aware after his release that they will lock him in again if he returns to fight.

That is the price Anwar is prepared to pay.

Anwar is prepared to fight.  Anwar will never surrender

The question is whether Malaysians are prepared to fight with him and never surrender ?
Attempt to tar and tarnish Anwar

Anwar Ibrahim is in the dock for a second time because he wants to lead Malaysians out of the darkness of racial politics, religious intolerance and authoritarian arrogance.

Anwar wants to lead us into the light of multiculturalism, mutual respect for religions and the rule of law.
Those in power are afraid of Anwar.

They dare not face him one on one.

They dare not face him and Pakatan Rakyat on a level playing field in open battle.

They prefer to ambush him.

They prefer to snipe at Pakatan from the cover of the bush.
They dare not face all Malaysians in open debate.

They prefer closed door meetings.

They are so afraid they are continuously adopting ever increasingly extreme positions on race, religion and royalty to hold on to power.

They want to tar and tarnish Anwar Ibrahim as a traitor to his race and religion.

They want to make sure he will not be able to lead and to open the minds of those who have been closed by half a century of propaganda and misinformation.

Race, Religion and Royalty

It is no coincidence that before the trial, Muslims and Non-Muslims have to deal with such sensitive issues as the use of “Allah”, the burning and attack on churches and other places of worship and when the desired response was not forthcoming, suraus have been attacked.

Malaysians were put to the test.

I am proud to say that Malaysians passed the test.

They showed Malaysians have the wisdom and the tolerance not to be provoked by these trouble makers.
It is no coincidence that these mischievous troublemakers have been desecrating religious symbols after the 12th General Elections.

They stomped on cow heads and now resort to throwing boar heads.

Boar heads wrapped in newspapers and plastic tied with a string so that the person throwing will not have to touch it.

I have never come across a Chinese who hold a pig with a string !
It is no coincidence the special assistant to the Prime Minister calls Indians beggars and Chinese women prostitutes.

Last year one of their leaders called Malaysians of Chinese descent “Pendatang”.

It was a seditious statement.

He was suspended as an UMNO member but it was Teresa Kok and a Chinese newspaper reporter that were detained under the ISA.
It is no coincidence Kapal Singh is charged for sedition for insulting the King.

It is no coincidence that Biro Tata Negara holds civics courses for civil servants that race and religion comes before the nation.

It is no coincidence we hear the repeated cries that only UMNO can save the race and religion.
Those that have tasted power and money that comes with it will not give up easily.

They will use all means fair or foul to stay in power.

They have used the government agencies.

They have used the institutions.

They have used the institutions to grab Perak from its people’s government.

They have used all in their power grab the Perak government from its people.

They are using all within their power to destabilize Selangor.

They are now using all their power to lock away Anwar.
Malaysians must fight back.

People want Change

All these happened because you want change.

All these desperate acts are because you want fairness, you want justice, and you want the rule of law.

Today we are tested again.

We were tested 10 years ago.

Too many of us then were afraid.

Too many of us then knew it was wrong but we had property to look after, we had our business to think about, we had a wife and family.

Let someone else protest. Let someone else demonstrate.

We will cheer from the safety of our homes.

We will stay on the sidelines out of harm’s way.
We failed.

Ketuanan Melayu won. Ketuanan Mahathir won. Ketuanan wang won.

The system was perverted so they could put Anwar away.

Anwar was jailed for 6 years but they damaged our constitutional institutions and took away our fundamental rights in the process.
For some of those that stayed on the sidelines because they had property, the perverted system stole their property.

The Federal Court decision of Adorna Properties vs Boonsom Boonyanit turned Malaysia into a thieves’ paradise.
For some of those that stayed out of harm’s way because they had a business, the perverted system robbed them of their business.

The Federal Court decision of Insas Berhad vs Ayer Molek was so unjust the judge said that “ Something is rotten in the House of Denmark” [where the courts were located at that time].
The police and enforcement agencies instead of protecting us became a danger to us.

Kugan went into a police station and was found dead.

Teoh Beng Hock went to the MACC office and was found dead.

Altantuya went into a police car and was found blown into bits by C4.
Malaysians did not go to jail with Anwar in 1998 but Malaysian paid the price for allowing the checks and balance to be dismantled.

Malaysians allowed the institutions to be perverted.

Malaysians allowed our agencies to be abused.

Malaysians are paying for it.
Today the script is taken out a second time.

Are we going to allow them to win a second time ?

Are we going to stay silent again ?

Are we going to let them take us down the road to perdition again ?
Are we going to allow them to win a second time ?

Are we going to stay silent ?

Are we going to let them take us down the road to perdition again ?
Or are we going to stand up? Are we going to shout in one voice and say Stop this nonsense !

Are we going to say give Malaysia back to Malaysians !

Give us back our pride and dignity.

Stop taking us for fools.
The people have woken up that the people can make a difference.

Each vote counts.

Each vote can make or break us.

But there are still those who have not woken up.

They are still those who cannot see.

They read Utusan Malaysia and The Star.

There are still those who have not heard.

They listen to RTM.

There are still those who do not realize that UMNO and BN are taking Malaysia to the backwaters.

They are frightened by the propaganda and the misinformation.

This is why Dato Seri Anwar and KeADILan are important.

Dato Seri Anwar can touch them.

Dato Seri Anwar can touch their hearts and their minds.

KeADILan can show Malaysians we can have a multiracial party, a multicultural party, a multicultural nation and together we can regain our place in the international arena.

We can regain our pride and dignity.We can live in harmony and prosperity.

Frustration and Despair

On March 8, 2008, you voted for change.

I know today you are frustrated, angry and in despair.

The mainstream BN controlled media reports that the three parties in Pakatan Rakyat are bickering amongst themselves.

Perak was lost because  three elected representatives jumped across.

Zulkifli Nordin is running around and saying things that UMNO will say and not what Pakatan Rakyat MP will say.

Zahrain Hashim, Tan Tee Beng and Wee Choo Keong are given wide media coverage for saying that things are not all going well in Pakatan.

What, you ask, is going on ?
Firstly, if we believe in the freedom of expression, we must accept that just as some people will not like to hear what we have to say, we have to accept that these people will also have the right to say what we do not like to hear.

Secondly, if we believe in the rule of law and the rules of natural justice, then we must apply the rule that no man is to be condemned unheard.

The right to be heard is an important rule of procedure.

If we believe in these principles then we must follow them.

Party discipline will be instilled.

Those who can explain and justify their actions will be excused, those who cannot will be dealt with and punished in a manner that fits the severity of the offence.

The party will cleanse the impurities and straighten the indiscipline.

Traitors

KeADILan representatives have been tested and are constantly being tested. Unfortunately, several have failed the tests.

If you are angry and frustrated, I am angry and frustrated one hundred times more than you.

The problem of traitors and treason has been with us since history began.

We will never know what lurks in the hearts of men.

Caesar found out too late and was assassinated by Brutus his closest friend.

Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas, one of his own 12 handpicked apostles.

France elected Marshall Petain to lead them in  World War II against Germany only to see him surrender and hand over France to Hitler after only a few weeks.

Americans appointed Benedict Arnold in their war of independence as its general only to see him cross over to the British.
However, I know that truth and right will always prevail for many more who answer the call and come forward.

Marc Anthony came forward and saved the Romans from Brutus.

The apostles spread the message of Jesus Christ after Judas.

General Charles De Gaulle liberated the French from the Germans.

George Washington won the war of independence for the Americans.
I take heart that there are many leaders in Pakatan Rakyat who are loyal and honest.

They seek to serve, to strive and not to yield.

I know that many more of you will come forward and offer yourselves to serve our cause.

Focus

You and I  started a journey on March 8.

We are walking on a tight rope from the 12th General Elections to the 13th General Elections.

We have to focus on the rope in front of us.

BN is trying to shake us and throw us off balance.

Some of those whom we trust have fallen and some others may fall in the days to come.

You must know that in this walk you are not alone.

There are many of us who will walk with you.

We will walk with you and take you from the darkness in the valley of shadows to light at the mountain top.

Nelson Mandela said it is a long walk to freedom.

We must stay focussed in this walk.

We must keep our faith and take heart that right and truth always prevail.

We must take heart that if we hold on together we will overcome.

It always has and always will.

Free Anwar

We must focus on the threat before us.

It is not Anwar that is on trial.

We, Malaysians, are on trial.

The world is watching us.

We, Malaysians, must stay the course.

We must continue our fight for truth and justice.

Anwar is a victim of injustice.

Malaysians are victims of injustice.

The trial is not Anwar’s fight alone.

It is not Keadilan’s fight alone .

It is all Malaysians’ fight.

It’s everyone’s fight.

All of us who desire democracy, justice and liberty must stand up and with one voice call on Najib to release Anwar, to release Malaysia.

We must stand up and be counted.

We must stand up against corruption, abuse of power and oppression.

We must not allow those who use racial disharmony, religious sensitivities and misguided nationalism to rob us.

The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

The price of justice is constant action.

Justice and liberty must be fought and refought every day.

We must be prepared to pay the price before we can begin to enjoy the blessings.

I am sure that if we stay focussed, if we stay together we will prevail.

Malaysian Insider: Corruption and the lawyer — Fahri Azzat (loyarburok.com)

Corruption and the lawyer — Fahri Azzat (loyarburok.com)

Malaysian Insider: MARCH 24 — A consideration of the devastating consequences a corrupt lawyer can bring upon his client by betraying them and the importance of trust.

When we talk about corruption in our legal system the focus is usually on the judges.
This is natural because a corrupt judge is not simply the most prominent actor in the corrupt act but also the most obvious.

Injustice almost always ensures the appearance of stupidity, intellectual dishonesty, aside from the killing of one’s conscience on the judge’s part. Corruption is a certainty when those elements are present and paired with a judge known to possess some semblance of sense if not intelligence.

On balance, there is a strong likelihood of corruption when after reading the judgment or hearing of the decision, you remark to yourself something like, “So stupid ah that judge?! So obvious the wording/circumstances also can get wrong ah?”

Corrupt judges usually possess enough intelligence to allow cunning to operate. Often that is their limit, but let’s get one thing straight — they may be intellectually dishonest but they are not stupid. Their corruption makes them appear stupid and inconsistent.

That’s the general rule. There are of course exceptions with the occasional outright stupidity and utter incompetence.

But judges are not the sole actors of corruption. They usually have companions to facilitate corruption. They are the court clerks. Family members. Drivers. Secretaries. Friends. Nominee lackeys. Last but not least – lawyers.

Lawyers equal if not exceed the scope and damage (emotional, psychological, financial, trust) that can be caused by their acts of corruption as compared to a judge. They are closer to the client, receive and manage highly sensitive and confidential information and finances for their client, and interact with them more closely and intimately. For these reasons, their corrupt acts are potentially greater in scope and in terms of damage because it is inconspicuous and discovered only when the damage becomes irreversible. The betrayal of trust will be more acute and severely felt by the client because they are legally entitled to trust their lawyers. There are numerous laws and rules that are in force to create, maintain and preserve that relationship of trust.

A frequent and common complaint I hear and experience these days are of lawyers stealing clients’ money. It has gotten so bad that some land offices no longer accept legal firm cheques despite being drawn on the client’s account.

What is the significance of this? Quite simply, a cheque drawn from the client’s account should never bounce because that money was given to the law firm for a specific purpose. So when the time comes for that money to be paid, there should be no trouble at all for the legal firm to do so. That it does, strongly suggests that the lawyers in that firm used the part of those client monies.

One of my distant relatives had his life put in a tailspin when his own lawyer (who was a cousin to his wife and so they thought they were safe) ran off with the balance of the purchase price that was supposed to be paid over to the purchaser’s solicitors. That balance was obtained from a government loan. As a result of that the vendor wanted to terminate the agreement because they did not receive the balance but at the same time my relative had to start paying the loan because the money was disbursed already. This is the immense amount of inconvenience and hardship a corrupt and unethical lawyer can cause.

I want to share one of my own small experience of such an opportunity. It was early in my practise when I argued a client’s appeal in the High Court after their claim was dismissed in the Magistrate’s Court. After the hearing, my client’s appeal was dismissed with costs. After the usual after-hearing drinks with the Respondent’s counsel, we walked back together the car park at the Dataran Merdeka (near where the courts were located in early 2000-ish).

Once we reached the car park, I shook his hand and prepared take my leave. He held my hand firmly indicating he wanted to discuss something. He asked me whether we could settle the costs awarded to his client in lieu of taxation. I had a figure of about RM 3,000.00 at most in mind since it wasn’t a very complicated appeal, I was shut up within 8 minutes of beginning my submissions and the sum involved was barely RM 15,000.00. I offered him about RM 2,000.00.

He replied that the figure was too low. Then, despite us being alone, he lowered his voice and said he had a proposal for me. I, in earnest, listened. As I did, I felt there was something terribly wrong with his proposal, which went along the lines of: Why don’t I advise my client to settle the costs of the appeal at RM 15,000.00 and he would reserve for me RM 5,000.00 of that for my trouble? “Win-win!” He was very nice and polite about it.

That is probably one reason why I hate hearing that word – “win-win” - these days (the other being that too many of our local politicians love to use this word). He obviously left my client out of that phrase. I thanked him for his generous offer and told him that it was very unlikely and told him to serve us with his bill of costs. He never did.

These are some of the things from that encounter I wish to emphasize on where corruption is concerned for the lawyer, especially to those starting out:

(i) Corruption can potentially happen any time, anywhere and when you least expect it, and there will be no ominous soundtrack to warn you of it happening.

(ii) It could come from your own legal brethren. There are lawyers and then there are “lawyers”. I conducted the case for about three years before he sprang that on me.

(iii) It need not be some million dollar or even hundreds of thousands of ringgit. It is corruption even if you take RM 10.00 to betray your client?s interest or instructions.

(iv) Corruption need not even be in the shape of money. It could be gifts, sex, etc.

(v) You may when confronted with it be uncertain whether it actually is. If you feel any strangeness or are uncomfortable with the request or offer, decline it or postpone it. Do not respond or react to it immediately. If gentle pressure is put to you to accept it immediately, decline it.

The ethical standard for lawyers must remain high if not developed higher for the simple reason that our clients trust us, rely on us and are entitled to do so implicitly. That is why they trust us with highly confidential information (that if used maliciously could destroy them) and trust us with important documents or large sums of money. The effect of a lawyer’s betrayal is therefore potentially widespread and devastating. But not simply for the betraying legal firm or lawyer, but for the Bar as a whole.

Each lawyer not only represents his legal firm or the client but every other lawyer in the conduct of his duties. So when a lawyer betrays his client it raises the specter of that possibility occurring amongst the other clients. A client who has been betrayed by his lawyer will less likely trust other lawyers in the future. They will tell their children lawyers are scum and the law is a sham. They will discourage their children from the profession of law.

In the end, the legal profession as a whole loses.

It is for this reason I am tempted to think that the strength and integrity of our Bar is only as strong as our worse lawyers. It is not enough that we are honest, trustworthy and honourable. As lawyers we have a duty to ensure that our fellow legal brethren uphold to those standards as well, especially the worse.

After all, the worse apples tend to be the most prominent and so ruin it for the rest of the barrel despite them being at the bottom. So as lawyers we either take steps to remove or rehabilitate those bad apples, or have little choice but to bask in ignominy and put up with the stink of being in the barrel with them.

[LoyarBurok Editorial Note: If you have a complaint against a lawyer, you should direct it to Advocates & Solicitors Disciplinary Board. The procedure for doing so can be found here.] — www.loyarburok.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or the newspaper. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.