IF following political news in Malaysia seems like a depressing prospect, it must be worse reading about political figures and their corruption cases, which run into millions of ringgit, or billions in the case of the 1MDB debacle.
Piles of money arrive easily in envelopes, bags or via their accounts, and even include colossal sums, with nary an eyebrow raised at the bank, in one case.
Ordinary Malaysians, who keep checking their bank accounts to see only a depleting balance, must find all these revelations hard to digest.
It’s difficult to comprehend the ease with which cash is exchanged.
Worse still, to avoid running afoul of the courts, since these cases are on-going, specific references can’t be made because it will be sub-judice to do so.
Sub-judice is a Latin legal term which simply means the public or witnesses involved in these cases are prohibited from public discussions because the matters are still under judicial consideration.
Accusations made in an open court would still be subjected to rebuttals, and allegations would need to be proven, if they are credible, in later stages of the court cases.
But for many ordinary Malaysians, the details have been shocking.
Only the fanatical loyalists would still have complete faith in their infallible political idols, although, to be fair, no one is guilty until proven so.
Even then, there are still many layers of appeal, and one judge’s decision may be overturned in the next court.
But the humdinger of the week has to be Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi telling the court that “money isn’t everything, but everything needs money.”
We have also discovered how chats in WhatsApp groups aren’t exactly safe. If the police require forensic proof on people they wish to investigate, the communication platform is a weak link.
No wonder some politicians occasionally insist on using Telegram instead, and at least one top businessman insists that my mobile phone be put away whenever we meet for a chat, saying listening devices can be used to eavesdrop on our conversations, which spooked me to no end.
What some of these corruption cases have proven is that graft has become intrinsic in our society.
We know corruption is bad, as exemplified by the 1MDB scandal, but to hear the full-blown bits is something else. It sickens to the pit of the stomach, really.
According to a 2013 public survey in Malaysia by Transparency International (TI), most of the surveyed households perceive Malaysian political parties to be highly corrupt.
A quarter of the surveyed households consider the government’s efforts in the fight against graft to be ineffective.
And that was in 2013.
In 2020, TI Malaysia released the Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020, covering 17 countries with 20,000 people surveyed.
This survey for Malaysia was for the period July 2019 to June 2020, when two different governments at the time were reviewed.
The survey found that 71% of Malaysians think that government corruption is a big problem, and it’s noteworthy that 39% of all respondents strongly believe that corruption is on the rise.
Well, we can safely agree that these findings are not news to us and merely reaffirm what we already know or fear.
Malaysia has come to a point where voters seem to tolerate or even accept that their elected representatives could be corrupt. However, so long as they are competent and not excessively corrupt, they will be embraced.
The concept of a clean politician is almost utopian, especially in a non-ideal world.
So, we’re ready to compromise our standards because we have essentially given up.
Corruption has become entrenched and a culture. That’s the perception, be it fact or fiction.
There’s still light at the end of the tunnel though. Our firemen don’t insist on being paid to put out fires, ambulances still turn up for emergencies and policemen, despite being viewed negatively, still apprehend the bad guys.
In government institutions, work continues at a professional level, and approvals are seen through, although not entirely to our satisfaction.
The TI report said only 7% of surveyed Malaysians have been bribed for their vote in an election, which is lower than the 14% average in Asia.
“A total of 15% of surveyed Malaysians have utilised personal connections when accessing public services, which is lower than the average in Asia of 22%,” it said.
“More importantly, of all Malaysians surveyed, a total of 68% still believed that ordinary people could make a difference in fighting corruption, which is higher than the average in Asia of 62%.”
Well, it’s now 2022, and corruption seems to be a full-blown epidemic. The findings would probably have changed drastically by now, I think.
Political instability, party hopping, allegations of money politics and corruption scandals involving political figures would surely result in a dip in expectations, although TI Malaysia’s findings indicate that Malaysians still think we can fight graft.
It’s important for our leaders to lead exemplary lifestyles to send the right message to our people.
They must show that they’re in politics to serve the people and country, and not to enrich themselves.
It’s a farce to preach about struggling for race, religion and country when the common folks know it’s really about self-serving interests for power, positions and money.
Instead of opting for luxurious clothing or accessories, perhaps one could make do with a modest lifestyle, lest it be misconstrued by the observant public. It’s best to avoid unnecessary criticism at this juncture.
The ill-conceived justifications offered, as usual, are even worse. Surely, as ministers, they can afford designer clothing despite public criticism and ridicule.
No one expects our politicians to be as dressed down, with non-matching shoes, like Indonesian president Jokowi.
But he deserves all the accolades from his countrymen and the international audience for his moderate lifestyle.
We don’t need politicians who post pictures on social media about travelling in economy class when it’s a rarity.
Only their supporters happily swallow these shenanigans. The rest of the time, business class seats are the order of the day.
There’s really nothing wrong with travelling comfortably in business class if it means getting enough rest or being able to work while up in the air.
Malaysians are getting smarter. We can detect professionally crafted video recordings, with multiple cameras and lighting, involving religious figures and politicians doing so-called charity work.
Come on, they are so well scripted that it’s time they re-think and evaluate what they have been doing or risk being exposed as fakes.
Viewers have begun to question the well-being of the people aided in the video clips. What has happened to them, post shooting?
Money is important, for sure, but at the same time, there must be a bigger picture.
Perhaps that imagery is best encapsulated by American author John Hagee’s classic quote that the measure of a man’s greatness is not the number of servants he has, but the number of people he serves.
In the Malaysian setting, it’s certainly not the number of bodyguards, aides and police outriders that serves as a gauge.
