Sultan citing Truman on wealth amassed by politicians is a salutary caution

 Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has done well to tell politicians that getting rich necessarily means they have been corrupt.

From Terence Netto

The 33rd US president, Harry S Truman, left office in January 1953 without a pension.

There were no such provisions then.

In fact, Truman had very little money for his retirement such that he was compelled to resort to his secretary of state, Dean Acheson, for help in obtaining a loan.

It’s no surprise that the honest, plain-speaking Truman is the source of two quotes that Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor cited as advice the state Royal Office dispensed on its Facebook page.

Both quotations refer to wealth accumulation by politicians and what that trait suggests.

“No man can get rich through politics unless he’s a crook,” and “If the wealthiest people in your society are politicians, that society is fundamentally corrupt” were the quotations from Truman.

The two bluntly-composed quotations were characteristic of the small-statured man from Independence, Missouri.

The Selangor Royal Office did not specify to whom the quotes from Truman were aimed, only that they were for general consumption.

The Malaysian public does not need a reminder that corruption has become a spectre plaguing the nation.

Barely a week passes without the media exposing the latest financial shenanigans of public and corporate officials and, yes, politicians who have been investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and are headed for indictment in the courts.

This unceasing litany has convinced the public that corruption has become a way of life.

We have been numbed by the ceaseless compilation such that when the Selangor Royal Office posted the quotations from Truman, many would have struggled to shake off the torpor of relentless public disclosure to note that, at last, someone in authority has issued a caution about the perils of the plague.

Truman was a US president who when he left office had public ratings that were among the lowest on record.

However, with the passage of time, he rose in the presidential rankings of American historians to gradually emerge among the top six in surveys by the academy.

Among the initiatives he took that bulked large in later historical assessments were the formation of Nato, the Marshall Plan, desegregation of the military, and the decision to stand up to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s encroachments into Eastern Europe.

For someone who had no college education and was a rank outsider when predecessor Franklin Roosevelt chose him as his vice-presidential candidate in 1944, Truman’s achievements gained lustre over time.

This was more so when seen against the fact that he had no tertiary education and had no preparation of any kind for the presidency.

A straight-talking man not inclined to lose sleep over big decisions, Truman rallied the Democratic administration that was left bereft by the sudden death of Roosevelt in April 1945.

Truman was an easy man to underestimate but once in office as president, he showed a mettle that surprised friends and foes alike.

His firing of the legendary General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War was seen as reflective of Truman’s gumption.

Though without higher education, Truman read history widely, possessed homely virtues, and was apt to call a spade a spade.

His views on corruption among the political elite and what the virus boded for the country showed his patriotism and high conception of public office.

Given his achievements in office, it is unlikely he will drop out of the top tier of US presidential rankings which only means his strictures against corruption will be pondered for generations to come. - FMT

Terence Netto is a senior journalist and an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.