ONE can be forgiven for concluding that arrests of public servants on charges of corruption merely skim the surface because it is not an easy crime to prove. That arrests now happen almost on a regular basis indicates just how rife it is in the country. The most recent is the apprehension of eight Kelantan Forestry Department staff by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for complicity in illegal logging in the Ulu Sat forest reserve in Machang. This is another instance of enforcers breaching the trust placed on them by their office. Not too long ago, the integrity of Immigration officers along the Malaysian-Thai border was questioned after the discovery of death camps at Wang Kelian, Perlis. Special Branch reports emerged alleging that 80 per cent of Immigration personnel at our borders were involved in all manner of smuggling activities, including human trafficking. However, without whistle-blowers, the MACC is impotent to act.
There was too, the case of the Customs officers in Port Klang, the MACC’s major opening salvo. Evidence came in the way they lived; well beyond their means. It gave them away. Brought to court and charged, humiliation came in the way of being photographed with their underwear masking their faces. In short, with the increasing empowerment of the MACC, its image changed from allegations of brutality against suspects to proper corruption-busting.
Their lament of inadequate prosecution reach only reinforces the suspicion that there is much more to the problem than the eye can see. The worry is the reality reflected in the MACC’s success. It appears to lend proof to the persistently less than flattering image of the country given by Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. There was, indeed, a time under the predecessor to the MACC, the
Anti-Corruption Agency, when there was barely any exposure of corruption. There were some, but nothing as regular as it is now. Obviously, it didn’t mean that corruption did not exist, but rather, that corruption was like a silent cancer breeding in the fabric of
the public service. Now that the problem is exposed, how can it be dealt with?
Naturally, corruption is inherent in positions vested with power. The abuse by the holders of the posts is what gives rise to the crime. Where judges are concerned, it is argued that handsome salaries hinder corruption, hence their higher-than-average remuneration package. But, to repeat this with every powerful government post is to bleed the Treasury. How, then, can the state eliminate corruption effectively? Transparency, it is said, removes the veil of secrecy, which breeds this most destructive of crimes. Take for example, tender procedures for government projects. Negotiated tenders are open to abuse, while open tenders have a better chance of awarding projects to the lowest bidder. Unfortunately, not all corrupt situations can be solved through transparency — like cross-border smuggling, for example. Therefore, the only recourse is severe punishment, the degree of which depends on the crime’s potential to breach national security. Above all though, the best armour against corruption is personal ethics; the God-fearing, righteous, honest and trustworthy individual.