Putrajaya and Azam's damage-control mode

 

Known cases of corruption which involve senior heads of the civil service probably represent the tip of the iceberg.

When serious allegations about Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki surfaced, Putrajaya went into damage-control mode.

First, the key players sat on the news. For two-and-a-half months, Azam acted as if nothing was wrong.

Away from our prying eyes, nasty things were happening. The news website, INS, which published whistleblower Lalitha Kunaratnam's article about Azam, suffered a DDOS attack and was brought down for several days. Meanwhile, the website which first exposed the allegations was hacked.

Second, under normal circumstances, Putrajaya would try to generate other bad news to cover up Azam's scandal.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had damaging news about ministers on vacation4, the useless National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), the rising anger of the flood victims and vaccination issues to choose from, but none of these would have worked.

Third, for five decades, Umno-Baru would defuse a tense situation with a statement which they hope will pacify the most hardened of critics.

This tactic may have worked in the 1980s or 1990s, but today's critics are more intelligent and not easily cowed by officialdom.

Azam came up with a daft explanation that he "did not immediately respond to allegations on his shareholdings because he believed he had done nothing wrong."

This did not endear him to the public. Putrajaya needs to invest in a PR guru who can coach him to say the right things.

Fourth, the mock Putrajaya damage-control manual said, "When being nice fails, bring in the family connection. Malays are sentimental creatures. They are suckers for emotion."

This tactic is designed to display the brotherly love Azam has for his brother, when he allowed him to buy shares under his name.

It backfired!

Fifth, Putrajaya's next step was to adopt harder tactics.

Azam put on a bold face and said that he was only answerable to the MACC Advisory Board.

His arrogance did not go down well with the rakyat. The rakyat made it clear that they pay his wages and that he is answerable to them.

Sixth, line up the big guys to convince the public. Enter Abu Zahar Ujang, the chairperson of the MACC Advisory Board.

He told the public that he had met Azam for serious discussions and he was convinced that there was no criminal conduct nor conflict of interest when Azam acquired millions of shares in two companies.

Instead of sounding smart and authoritative, Abu Zahar became the object of ridicule. Comments about his incompetence surfaced.

One socio-political observer said, "He should be placed under investigation. How many other big fish did he allow to escape? Is he that gullible? He's not naive, he's just stupid."

Abu Zahar panicked and tried to discredit the MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel member, Edmund Terence Gomez.

He claimed that the board wanted to make public its findings about the Azam case, but "Unfortunately, the matter was earlier brought to the public’s attention by Dr Gomez.”

If Dr Gomez, who resigned from the MACC Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel in protest, had not alerted the rakyat about Azam, his case would have been buried together with all the other cases which have been covered up by the MACC.

Seventh, when all else fails, the unofficial guide advises the use of the killer move - "Sue the whistleblower!"

This is what Azam has done. After two-and-a-half-months of inactivity, he has demanded an apology and RM10 million in damages from Lalitha.

If he had any sense, Azam would have resigned, or stepped down, until his name was cleared.

Instead, he has brought further disrepute to the civil service, and eroded public confidence in the democratic governance of Malaysia.

More importantly, Azam's scandal has exposed four things which are inextricably linked.

They are:

1. The official rules and regulations of the civil service

The civil service code of conduct regulates the conditions of service of those working in government. They dictate the behaviour of civil servants, governance, discipline, conduct and how corruption is dealt with.

However, the code of conduct is rarely enforced, or is often ignored.

For instance, Azam owned close to two million shares in a public-listed company and had allegedly failed to disclose it to the government.

Section 10 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 requires public officers to declare all their assets to their heads of department. Did Azam declare his assets? How was he able to amass millions of ringgits on a civil servant's salary?

2. 'Keluarga', kinship or blood ties

The convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak, had a banker brother who was reported by the Wall Street Journal to have disbursed US$7 million on Najib's behalf. The banker brother claimed he was not aware of what the money would be used for.

Another senior politician was not aware that her husband and three children had misappropriated hundreds of millions of ringgits meant for cattle farmers.

MACC's Azam claimed his brother had used his name and account to buy millions of shares.

Many senior politicians or civil servants are related by marriage to other corrupt politicians/civil servants. Bringing any of the corrupt people to justice would shame the family. In the end, no one is prosecuted.

3. The unofficial code of conduct

In Putrajaya and throughout the civil service, the unofficial and unwritten rules appear to be more important than the official rules.

The unofficial rules can be loosely translated as "You help me, I help you."

Anyone who does not observe these unofficial rules will be socially isolated, sidelined, demoted and have limited access to promotion and attractive posts.

So, if you value your periuk nasi, you would obey the unofficial rules.

4. Ketuanan Melayu

This racist brotherhood blocks reform and has the power to destroy multicultural Malaysia.

Ismail Sabri hasn't got a clue about mending our corrupt and broken civil service.

A motley crew of independent politicians and the upcoming young MPs stand a better chance of rebuilding Malaysia, than Ismail Sabri and his bloated cabinet. - Mkini

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.