EIGHTY per cent is a huge fraction of a total and when that many percentage points of any organisation is corrupt the picture is frightening. More terrible is the information that the problem cannot be rectified because the law is inadequate and those who must act will not. Why? It would not be a surprise if the whole caboodle is somehow implicated. Unfortunately, this is no supposed situation, a figment of the imagination. According to the Special Branch, this is the picture revealed as a result of 10 years of “covert, deep-cover surveillance and intelligence gathering” of the nation’s border checkpoints. The officers of the enforcement agencies stationed at these checkpoints are on the take. They include those from the Immigration Department, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the Anti-Smuggling Unit and the police’s General Operations Force. And, many of these officers are on the payroll of syndicates smuggling drugs, weapons and humans, too. It is as if they moonlight as enforcement officers.
This is institutionalised corruption fused with organised crime and pervades the agencies. So insidious is the problem that when an officer was asked to name names of those involved, his reply was: “…easier if you asked us for the names of officers who were not on the take”. And thus is pronounced the most spine-chilling problem that this country faces. Is it any wonder that there are death camps on the border and that street crimes are becoming ever more violent, with armed criminals becoming the norm rather than the exception? Corruption is poking holes into the country’s security. And, what if these agencies are corrupt wherever they operate, not merely in border areas? Meanwhile, the 20 per cent not involved are, according to the Special Branch report, the pious, religion being the shield keeping seduction at bay. But they are a paltry number at risk of dangerous elements who are legitimately equipped to kill. They are, therefore, not the natural recourse to correcting the situation. Even if they were at the upper echelon, it is questionable whether they can move their corrupt minions to comply with any order to clean up their act.
The home minister, rightly outraged by the revelation of the extent of corruption, has spoken of a changeover of the guards at the border areas. A shake-up is indeed absolutely necessary, but will replacing the agencies with the military work as intended? Is the soldier any more upstanding than the other uniformed services? Furthermore, to rely on the military is tantamount to literally declaring war on criminals. While attractive, the proposed solution might have the impact of creating a dangerous situation. Whither the civilians in these locations? Will night curfew, say, be imposed? Corruption must end but when, as alleged, it has become institutionalised, how? In some countries, facing the firing squad is considered a solution, especially when justice is somewhat summary. Such a move, however, is too drastic. Whatever the case, the enemy within needs to be routed out. But, is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission fully equipped to fight this level of corruption?