Najib: Leaders must set example in fighting corruption

Najib said that countries needed to instill a ‘natural abhorrence’ to corruption into the conscience of society. – File picture

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 – Leaders at all levels of society must exhibit the right values for their constituents to follow in order to prevent corruption, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

Najib said that social norms and values play a critical role in dealing with the corruption problem and have to be cultivated.

“It is critical, therefore, for people in positions of power and authority to exemplify the values they wish their constituents to follow,” said Najib at the opening of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities Conference here.

“This makes the behaviour of those in positions of leadership, be it in politics, government, business, civil society, education and the home especially important in instiling the right values and basics of ethical conduct,” he said.

Najib said that countries needed to instill a “natural abhorrence” to corruption into the conscience of society.

The prime minister also said that corruption did not only involve the government but also the private sector and called the “unbridled” and “ruthless” pursuit of “extraordinary” profits a form of corruption.

“We rightly demand greater scrupulousness from those in public office yet we live in a world where the public culture endorses the pursuit of greed and unmitigated material success, at least until someone is caught breaking the law.”

Najib later gave RM1 million to the International Anti-Corruption Academy based in Vienna on behalf of the Malaysian government.