NFC scandal and when to draw a line

To become a high-income country, we have to ensure that all government accounts are rationalised and meeting all the moral standards and rules. Otherwise, the government will suffer dented credibility and everyone gets a chance to be corrupt, rendering the government's transformation programme in vain.

Deputy finance minister Awang Adek confessed that he had received cash donations through the personal bank account he opened in 2004. He claimed that all the donations were for social welfare uses and were clearly recorded in black and white, adding that the donations had nothing to do with the award of contracts.

Even if all that he said are true, the use of personal bank account to receive public donations is procedurally unacceptable.

Doing charity is a good thing, but should be carried out via non-government organisations or the social welfare department. If a government official accepts donations from politicians, and these politicians are bidding for government projects, then a line should be drawn between what is private and what if business.

In the meantime, a blogger has lodged a police report accusing that a company belonging to the wife of a former Perak state executive councillor has been awarded a tailoring contract by the Ipoh City Hall.

Let's brush aside whether the accusation is true or baseless, something all political leaders must learn is that they really have to make some sacrifices while they are holding senior government posts. They must never allow any of their family members to draw any contract or benefit from the government.

Politicians holding government posts have an obligation to stop their family members from fishing government contracts. They should not excuse themselves by saying "I'm only a husband (or wife)!"

More unusual inside stories have been exposed in relation to the NFC scandal. Before that we heard loans were utilised to acquire two luxurious condominiums in Bangsar, and now we learn that Shahrizat's family is accused to have bought a high-end condominium worth about RM10 million in Singapore with the NFC fund.

Low-interest loans provided by the government should be put to proper use in order to ensure the success of the projects so that Malaysians will benefit from them. If we cannot even get this basic thing done right, little wonder so many of our government projects have ended up in smoke.

Irrational fund mobilisation is nothing new to this country. The Matrade building took nine years to complete but the government did not even get a single cent in compensation for the gross delay. The national car manufacturer Proton acquired 57.7% stake in Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Augusta for 70 million euro in July 2004, but sold it at a nominal price of 1 euro in December the following year.

At a time when the opposition was not powerful enough, irregularities could escape largely unnoticed. But with information travelling at the speed of light today, such irregularities must never be allowed again. The government must map out distinct guidelines to penalise the perpetrators and ensure that such rules are enforced to the letter to wipe out all acts of corruption and ill-intentioned political donations.

If we are able to plug the loophole, we should be able to save a sizeable chunk of our limited resources and cut back the enormous fiscal deficits.

-Sin Chew Daily