Of corrupt officials & corrupt 'rakyat'

HE'S a developer. The government leased a plot of land to him. When conditions of the lease were breached, the lease was terminated.

In an email enclosing the exchange of letters between his lawyers and the government agencies, he had made two police reports and one with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). All three are related to the abuse of power and wrongdoings of government officials.

Most of his friends had advised him not to waste his time as the perception will be like "anjing menyalak bukit".

He wrote: "However, when I read about your recent appointment to "work with the crime busters", invariably gave me some kind of hope in the above said matter. I do hope and pray (that) your presence will make the difference and change the perception of the rakyat towards MACC to a positive one."

The response was to the point – in an advisory capacity, we have no executive powers and merely address issues and policies on prevention of corruption. The reply was more succinct:

"Having read the documents that you have sent, there is no element of corruption whatsoever. You are merely claiming that various people abused their power and committed wrongdoings. What is the MACC supposed to investigate? There is no allegation of corruption. If it is fraud, then it becomes a police case. If the police don't act, you should refer the matter to the Police Integrity Commission in Bukit Aman."

But he dropped a bombshell in his somewhat unhappy reply and made some serious claims. Though it is merely hearsay, it is reproduced:

"Actually, the officials in (the government department) demanded Karaoke sessions, women GROs and I have (sic) no choice. (I) paid for all their demands inclusive Bandung entertainment and so forth. I m now convinced, all these things have become the norm and a waste of time to proceed further in this Bolehland of ours. Invariably, any whistleblower will face many more problems if to seek further recourse."

Herein is the intrinsic problem in the fight against corruption:

» People think that they have to "pay" for services failing which they will not get them;

» Their applications can be expedited by spending money;

» Offences committed can be kau tim by paying a bribe; and

» Malaysians believe they can move the earth by greasing the palms of government servants.

When all the above beliefs are knocked down bare and when things do not work for them, they come out screaming that "government officers are corrupt".

Corruption is difficult to prove. Proof of corrupt influence involves demonstration that the person receiving the bribe favoured the bribe-payer in some improper or unusual way, such as by providing preferential treatment, bending or breaking the rules, taking extraordinary steps to assist the bribe-payer, or allowing the bribe-payer to defraud the government.

If this developer had met with the conditions of the lease, he need not have to spend money at sing-along sessions with a bevy of beauties. Neither would there have been the need to pay for air tickets and accommodation.

The fact remains that while making all those accusations of wrongdoing, the developer is at fault too – for having corrupted the system, perhaps in kind more than hard cash.

How does one view a man with tainted hands? Doesn't he have to face the consequence by virtually confessing that he had paid bribes in the form of entertainment and air tickets?

If the ruling had gone his way and if he had gotten what he sought, who would ever know the deals that went on behind closed doors? He would not have written the email and it would have been a win-win situation for both parties at the expense of the people. - Sundaily