Harapan’s dilemma over fighting corruption

QUESTION TIME

 | Think carefully about this - what would you do to fight corruption if you were prime minister of Malaysia and had support from your coalition to do it?

Dr Mahathir Mohamad chose his path - set up a committee to make recommendations. Yes, yet another one after a number which had been set up since 2004, a year after he stepped down as prime minister the last time.

Last week, the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) under the Prime Minister’s Department presented its National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP), which was launched by the prime minister.

As a plan, it has all the necessary ingredients for a good one, including a timeline for action and monitoring, which are supposed to be done by the GIACC itself. But it is not clear what would be done if deadlines are not adhered to. Some of the timelines seem excessive - within five years, for instance.

But first, let me tell a story of what happened on the day the report was released. I sat down and listened to an Indonesian female worker, a self-confessed orang kosong, a person without papers, as she told her tale of woe the night before.

She lives in an illegal kongsi (settlement). The night before, there was a raid by “police officers” - she wasn’t sure if they really were police, but they were in uniform. They did not detain anyone, but took all the valuables of the illegal workers, including cash and jewellery. She lost RM300, but she hid her jewellery.

She was angry and provoked. “Perompak!” she shouted at them, “Kau bukan polis. Kalau nak duit, pergi kerja-lah.” One of the “officers” raised his hand to hit her, but her husband averted the violence by grabbing hold of the would-be assailant’s hand. She was still fuming as she related the story.

She took out a business card, with the name of a guy and his company on it. On the reverse side were a number of rubber-stamped imprints. She claimed she paid RM50 each month for one stamp and from time-to-time had to show it to police officers to avoid payment when she was stopped. This time it did not work.

We all have heard such stories before. Stories abound of how policemen’s pens hover above the summons books for a long time while they ask offenders if they want to selesai (settle) things. Much more serious offences have been levelled against the police.

In fact, the NACP says in its report that 57 percent of Malaysians think that police officers are corrupt, the highest among various groups, including lawmakers, councillors and others (see chart below). That’s a heavy indictment against the police, who form one of the prime bodies fighting corruption, and the institution that supposedly protects the public from criminals.

If we look at the problem that the Indonesian woman faced, it arises from several levels. There is no proper, cheap way to make her a legal worker - she does not have the money to pay for this and the process is ridden with corruption, patronage and red tape.

Because she is illegal she is repeatedly used and abused by various authorities who do not detain her for deportation, but exploit her vulnerability by extracting as much as possible from her, leading to a cycle of never-ending corruption and exploitation.

If we go by perception (and please don’t say it is just perception - it arises from the reality), Malaysians think (see the above chart again) that corruption is pervasive and exists among the key decision-makers and at all levels of society.

Seriously compromised

Thus, the first requirement for the reduction and the virtual eradication of corruption is a very strong and non-negotiable political will to do this. Without this, nothing can happen and committee after committee can be set up - but these will be immediately stymied by inaction.

Here’s where we try to answer the question we asked earlier. What would you do to fight corruption if you were prime minister? The first step is to put persons of integrity and capability and their teams at the top level of every enforcement agency in the country. Can the current IGP whip the police force into shape?

Start with the police. Move to the MACC, Bank Negara, the Securities Commission, Immigration, Inland Revenue, Customs, etc - everyone who has an enforcement function. Clean up and fight crime at all levels should be the instruction. Once you get investigations right, the prosecutions will follow.

Then remove the prerogative to prosecute by the attorney general and devolve it to the respective agencies. If there is disagreement between the Attorney-General's Chambers and the agencies over prosecution, let a board decide whether a prosecution should take place. That way, responsibility does not rest on one man.

Change the laws if necessary. If the money-laundering legislation is not effective or punitive enough, consider unambiguous new laws which will require people to explain their wealth or have it confiscated with severe penalties, including long prison terms, imposed.

Here’s the dilemma - Umno/BN has long played patronage politics, some of which are outright violations of the law even under current legislation. Because investigation, prosecution and the judiciary were seriously compromised in the past, many of those considered upright citizens then may now be culpable.

There have been many transactions made during the administrations of Mahathir and other previous prime ministers, which will come under question if investigations go back in time and to their natural conclusion. There could be major upheavals.

Right now, active prosecution seems to involve largely kleptocracy and clear-cut cases where monies changed hands - but that’s not the only kind of corruption.

There may even be a need to consider amnesties, under which corruption that took place before a certain cut-off point in time is forgiven, provided those guilty confess and surrender their ill-gotten gains to the country and undertake not to do such things in future.

These are the things that hinder the fight against corruption. As long as Pakatan Harapan does not grapple with these questions, ignores these monstrosities in the country and the reality that corruption is a blight and an epidemic of epic proportions, not much beyond lip service will be offered as the government’s response.

As long as there is no political will to fight corruption at all levels and retrospectively, it will continue just as crime will continue to exist and flourish if enforcers continue only with selective investigation and prosecution.

The evidence shows that the time has not come for eradicating corruption. Let’s hope it does soon, hopefully before the expiry of Harapan’s first term. There can be no half-measures in the fight against corruption.

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P GUNASEGARAM says fighting corruption costs a lot but not anywhere near as much if it is allowed to prevail. E-mail: t.p.guna@gmail.com. - Mkini