Let’s have honest people at the helm

Corrupt practices being exposed have adversely affected the financial health of the nation.

FMT LETTERS

By Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin

Corruption has become endemic in our society.

In a manner of saying, the worms are being flushed from the woodwork, although the mother load that resides deeper and higher in the labyrinths of patronage and power has yet to be probed and accounted for.

Such corrupt practices have adversely affected the financial health of the nation.

The tentacles of corruption have spread far and wide from Johor to Sabah, Putrajaya to Perak, right up to our northern peninsula and East Malaysia borders.

The perpetrators range from those who accept pittance to the opulent elite who misappropriate millions.

What is most perplexing is that the high-profile corrupt practices have gone undetected for so long by the respective state authorities, ministries and heads of government-linked companies and other semi-government agencies.

For example, the Sabah government was oblivious to the massive corrupt practices in the Sabah Water Department.

The latest case in Johor, though involving a lesser amount, is more serious as it involves the son of a state assemblyman entrusted with the housing and local government portfolio.

How could the person in charge be oblivious to the goings-on of shady land deals within his purview that involved his son, special officer and five others? One wonders how his son’s lavish lifestyle escaped his attention.

How does one handle this abominable scourge which could just be the tip of the iceberg?

It all boils down to good and proper governance, with capable honest leaders at the helm providing good role models.

And equally important are the check and balance agencies like the Malysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which is charged with the responsibility of preventing corrupt and unsavory practices.

They must undertake their sacred duty without fear or favour.

*Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin is a keen observer in governance and a FMT reader.