THE recent arrest of an aide to a federal minister for accepting a gift is spot on in the new Malaysia that everyone is striving for. The culture of presenting gifts to those who can facilitate or assist in getting favours from government departments and agencies has been going on for far too long, leading to massive corruption at almost all levels. Nothing kills a nation faster than corruption.
Offering gifts to civil servants is a means of currying favour to secure lucrative contracts from the government or its agencies, as was pointed out by the Finance Minister when he announced the reduced cost for many projects after renegotiating them recently.
Being one of the largest in Asia, our civil service would be a drain on our resources if corruption is allowed to continue. The new administration must put a stop to all forms of corruption in the civil service and severely punish those found guilty of such deeds.
Corruption leads to inflation of prices, which is detrimental to the people as a whole. It also sets bad examples for the young, and deprives many deserving people of their just rewards.
PHILIP WONG
Sarawak Institute for Public Affairs- Star
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