AG’s reports a waste of money

Putrajaya does not seem disturbed by the yearly revelations of corruption at atrocious levels.

COMMENT

“When once a republic is corrupted,” said Thomas Jefferson, “there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”

There is no denying that our nation is deeply engulfed in corruption, as we can easily infer from what the Auditor-General has been saying for years in his reports. Almost all the ministries and the departments under them stand guilty of abusing the national coffers.

The question is, what has our government done to “remedy the evil” and “restore its lost principles”?

If it has done anything significant enough to match the gravity of the situation, or is doing it, we have not heard about it. That says a lot about its claim of transparency.

The AG’s revelations of how monies have gone to the drains and garbage bins—sometimes literally—do not appear to have disturbed the powers in Putrajaya. Not a single minister in the cabinet has taken responsibility for the misconduct of those under his charge.

With such a scenario before us, we will have to assume that the ministers, the directors-general and everyone else down the food chain have been given immunity so that the boat is not rocked to expose more filth.

So, if the AG’s reports serve no other purpose than to fill up the national archives, why bother with the annual audits at all? They cost money too. We might as well abandon the exercise altogether.

Even as the Barisan Nasional government ignores its duty to root out corruption—which should not be too difficult since the root is planted in its own system—it is enthusiastically hammering down new taxes and withdrawing subsidies in the name of “rationalisation” while exhorting the public to spend money prudently.

Meanwhile, the monopolies that control various sectors, including food and health, are robbing citizens of a decent life, with Putrajaya’s blessings, no doubt.

The poor and middle classes have been reduced to living on unmanageable borrowings from legal and illegal lenders. They are being practically ripped off of their hard earned incomes as the costs of goods and services balloon outrageously. Rental, food and utilities—and even the loans needed to pay for them—come at a premium price these days.

To the rest of the world, our people appear like fools for keeping the corrupt in power.

Malaysians are miserable because they live within a corrupt system.

It is corruption that causes the value of our ringgit to plunge. It is corruption that tears our education system to tatters. It is corruption that causes the influx of foreigners, the mushrooming of gambling dens, the reduction in service quality, the bloating of project costs, the deterioration of our border defence. The list is endless.

We began this discussion by quoting an American philosopher and statesman. We’ll end it by quoting an American humorist. Mark Twain could have had contemporary Malaysia in mind when he said: “Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.”

Narinder Singh is a FMT team member.