Corruption is never a victimless crime. The transaction may be mutually beneficial for the giver and taker; but, somewhere down the line, there will always be consequences to pay.
It begins with trying to make things easy; but, once it becomes commonplace, everything becomes difficult without it. A moral cancer, corruption spreads, infecting every life, directly or indirectly, weakening ethics and integrity, and corroding trust.
And whether we ourselves partake in it or not, sooner or later, the consequences of corruption will touch our lives or those of our loved ones. For when proper conduct is no longer governed by ethics and morals in pursuit of a clean conscience, but rather by how much money is paid under the table, then, anything is possible, and everything is for sale.
Rules, regulations and standards set on paper do not become applied in real life, and the consequence of that is very real.
In our fight against Covid-19 these past two years, ethics, integrity and the perception of systemic corruption have affected how members of the public have responded to advice on vaccination and vaccines, and affected their trust in the entire process.
The mistrust is unfounded; but, the lack of trust is what causes people to hesitate and put their lives at risk. However, this trust deficit did not arise overnight. It is the culmination of generations of organic knowledge that in Malaysia, anything is possible if there is enough money involved.
It is possible to get out of a traffic summons. It is possible to drive a road-unworthy vehicle on the highway. It is possible to cut corners to construct a building not up to code. It is possible to go for umrah even when one hasn't been vaccinated. It is possible to be officially registered as vaccinated even when one hasn't been vaccinated.
The parties involved in these deceptions either do not think their crime will affect others, or they do not care. However, the consequences on others are potentially dire. Faulty cars can go out of control and crash; buildings can collapse; the general public can get infected with Covid-19; and people can become incapacitated or die.
The alleged sale of Covid-19 vaccination certificates to unvaccinated people by one doctor in Marang, Terengganu, is under investigation. But, the people involved in this one enterprise already number in the thousands. One doctor, his agents, and at least 1,900 patients from all over the country.
And all these people had to have friends or family who knew and did nothing. How many more of such enterprises exist? How many lives have been put at risk by their corrupt act? And how many of them walk among us, these enemies from within? The doctor is investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code and, if convicted, he faces a jail term of between one and 10 years, and whipping. That hardly seems sufficient for such treachery.
Indeed, any medical professional that subverts the course of our national fight against this and future diseases should be permanently struck off the medical register and charged with treason. Every decent Malaysian should rail against this crime and all the people involved.
For if we do nothing, if we don't fight it now and every time, corruption will touch us — even if all we did was stand on the sidelines and watch.