Himanshu Bhatt
The Sun
14 January 2012
ALOR SETAR (Jan 14, 2012): The Pakatan Rakyat will come up with an action plan to combat corruption, should they win the next general elections.
DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said leaders of the three member parties – PKR, PAS and DAP – will discuss the matter and come with the plan prior the general elections, which must be held by April 2013.
“We will discuss the matter. And probably before the 13th general elections, we will come out with a proposal,” he at the PR’s 3rd annual convention at the Stadium Sultan Abdul Halim here.
“We want a graft free country,” he added in response to a query by guest speaker Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who is also Bersih 2.0 chairman,
Also present were Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, DAP vice-president Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Abdul Hadi Awang and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
Ambiga, who was invited to address the gathering as an NGO leader, had asked for the opposition’s plan on corruption.
“I want to know if PR is looking at setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission For Corruption,” she said, stressing that such commissions had been set up in countries like South Africa and Hong Kong.
Ambiga also said the country should have a policy to pardon those who had committed minor graft offences, to help facilitate transformation in the government administration.
She noted that Malaysia’s ranking in the world Corruption Perception Index dropped to 60th place (out of 182 countries) in 2011, from 56th in 2009 and 2010.
She also asked what PR plans to do to have assets that have been lost due to corruption to be returned.
She said more than RM1 trillion has been reported to have flowed out of the country. “What are PR’s plans to bring back the money?” she said adding “This is the people’s money.”
Asked by reporters later, Anwar said the PR leaders were open to ideas about formulating an anti-corruption plan.
“I will meet her (Ambiga) and listen for suggestions,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hadi expressed hope that the freeing of Anwar through the recent judicial decision pronouncing him not guilty in his sodomy trial, was a turning point for the independence of the judiciary, as well as the separation of powers between the political and executive segments.
PAS vice president Datuk Mahfuz Omar explained that the coalition partners will gather pertinent points and important issues that are also raised in the convention, to formulate a single manifesto dereved from the Orange Book which highlighted the opposition’s plan and aspirations if they take over government.
The PR leaders also agreed to hold the coalition’s next convention in 2013 in Putrajaya.
#1 by monsterball on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 12:59 am
Yes… non corrupted parties against corrupted ones is the choice for voters.
Corruptions….by a government stealing by the billions..is evil.
Money is the root of all evils.
Mahathir encourages evilness all through his 22 years leadership…up to now.
Yes Malaysians decide…vote FOR or AGAINST a corrupted government.
#2 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 2:32 am
Ambiga’s “Truth and Reconciliation Commission/amnesty” suggestion (as part of PR’s plan to fight corruption) is relevant, important but fraught with complex problems. On the advantages side, such amnesty policy will facilitate peaceful transition of power if election were won. Who would give up power if he were going to be prosecuted for corruption? Also if RM1 trillion were lost due to corruption then arguably a part of it may be recoverable if amnesty were granted (say) on condition that the guilty party makes full disclosure of his loot, his accomplices and reparation of at least 80% of the ill-gotten gains. (Other conditions may include their being barred from holding public offices and return to obedience and duty for the future).
#3 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 2:36 am
However Ambiga’s condition for amnesty to draw the line at punishing “the big fish but forgive the small fish so we can move forward” is not really practical because firstly it is the big fish that has big power to purposely thwart the peaceful electoral transition of federal power and hence is the party to whom the objective of amnesty is better served when given, and it is also the big fish whose reparations (as condition for amnesty) that can help the country recover meaningful portion of the money looted. The third advantage is that amnesty avoids endless investigations, saving time, energy and resources of MACC in recovery from foreign jurisdictions so that it could to concentrate on cases forward from time PR takes over. It may be viewed as an attempt to promote national reconciliation, trust and confidence amongst holders of public office that political vendetta and victimization will not ensue from a transfer of power.
#4 by sheriff singh on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 2:47 am
First go after those who are living well above their incomes and cannot explain the excess.
#5 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 2:53 am
On the disadvantages side: Firstly, why would the corrupt trust that the amnesty will be honoured? What happens when after PR takes power, it reneges on the amnesty deal and prosecutes them? Even if one passes an amnesty law now what is the assurance that such a law cannot be struck down as “unconstitutional” after PR takes power by judge friendly to it??? In 2007, General Pervez Musharraf, then-president of Pakistan, made a deal with the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto passed the National Reconciliation Ordinance granting amnesty to those corrupt of previous regime which on December 16, 2009 was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, thus re-activating arrest, throwing the country into a political crisis. Secondly, corruption is a heinous economic crime committed against the country by public officials of low moral fibre, so how does PR that claims to combat corruption & uphold law, reconcile, in principle, to so combat and uphold by forgiving and granting amnesty/immunity for such breakers of law and public trust when the nation has lost RM1 trillion due to them?
#6 by k1980 on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 6:05 am
//First go after those who are living well above their incomes and cannot explain the excess//
But we have have the right judiciary to finish the job. Look at the javanese toyol, who was given only 1 year for gobbling up RM6.5 million. And Syarizut, who was given 3 weeks holiday with pay for misusing her loan of RM250 million. Don’t ever hope that she would ever repay that loan, it has been written off like Long Sick’s PKFZ RM12.5 million
#7 by k1980 on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 6:06 am
typo– But we must have the right judiciary
#8 by HJ Angus on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 6:51 am
Wanted in Malaysia…..200 forensic auditors and accountants to track down ill-gotten gains…..opportunities to travel overseas.
Rewards?
RM5000 per month,travel expenses/allowances plus 5% of the funds recovered.
Retired auditors/accountants encouraged to apply.
#9 by HJ Angus on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 6:52 am
I forget to add that that is one measure to recover the loot…..don’t email me!
#10 by Godfather on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 9:18 am
There’ll be plenty of ex-bankers and accountants who can do a much better job than the MACC of going after the paper or electronic trail of money being sent overseas.
#11 by drngsc on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 9:18 am
Timely write up.
We wish so much that Pakatan Rakyat will outline an alternative policy to take Malaysia forward when they come into power. What are your policies to help the economy, your health policies, your money policies, your defense policies, your policy towards law and order.
Yes, it is important to right the wrongs, but spending all your time “witch hunting” will be be futile and a waste of resources.
How to take the country forward and how much time and resources to spend on “witch hunting” will be a test of your leadership skill.
Please take us forward and out of this quackmire.
We must change the tenant at Putrajaya. GE 13 is getting nearer and our best chance. Failure is not an option. Let us all work very very hard to ensure success.
GONG XI FA CAI
#12 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 10:10 am
Weighing the competing considerations, on the disadvantages side, for amnesty to work it must first be believed by the other side that it will be honoured. In 2007 Pakistan’s Musharraf granted amnesty to Bhutto & politicians accused of corruption &embezzlement. He even passed the law [National Reconciliation Ordinance (“NRO”)] to give amnesty legislative effect, but in 2009 the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared NRO unconstitutional on grounds that the NRO “seems to be against national interests”. As a result of verdict NRO was struck down as invalid, amnesty reversed, and witch hunt ensued, with politicians of previous regime arrested and prosecuted for corruption. So there is this disadvantage : will promise of amnesty believable that it will be honoured later by courts of the new regime.
#13 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 10:20 am
Continuing preceding post – there is to be weighed on the scales, the other disadvantage grounded on principle: how can a new regime committed to uphold the law and combat the scourge of corruption be seen serious about this business when its first act is to pass a law to forgive and grant immunity to corrupt politicians and officials of previous regime that have (say) plundered the nation’s RM1 trillion? Is it to nation’s ultimate interest to have such an amnesty policy whenever an election anticipates a change of govt and transfer of power? This means even politicians of the new regime can revert back to corruption on the bet that they too will not be held accountable, like the predecessors, because when the next electoral change comes, the victors, when threatened by losers’ refusal to honour election results, will also be persuaded to grant amnesty for easy power transition, trapping the country in an endless cycle of corruption and then amnesty which encourages the next round of corruption!
#14 by boh-liao on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 10:40 am
NR, MMK, UmnoB say: ‘Allo, U r barking @ d WRONG TREE!
Where got CORRUPTION 1? Dis nation oredi GRAFT FREE under UmnoB
Dis is 1M’sia, a land of Muslims majority n ruled by Malays, Muslims since birth
All UmnoB Malays n civil service Malays, all Muslims n pray 5 times a day 1, very SUCI 1
CANNOT b corrupt 1 mah, also NO KHALWAT 1 (WHAT is dat?), NO INCEST too
Nothing 2 worry 1, NO need 2 consider lining up d corrupt individuals 2 face firing squad
Actually, it’s dis incessant FA CAI thingy dat makes ppl (not UmnoB Malays) corrupt
#15 by HJ Angus on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 11:00 am
appoint a special Commission that will operate for say 3 years ….. the Commission to Recover ILL-gotten Profits or C-RIP!
After that the revamped/reformed MACC can operate but it will report directly to Parliament just like the Auditor-General who will stop reporting to the PM.
#16 by boh-liao on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 11:03 am
“A man who stole 11 cans of Tiger beer and Guinness stout was jailed for five years. And another man who had illegal possession of a dead tiger got away with a RM7,000 fine.”
CJ used d above 2 compare n contrast
What abt d corrupt Toyol? Period of jail OK? What abt d COWwitch n family?
#17 by Winston on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 11:22 am
Well, well, well.
Winning the battle against a detested government is not impossible.
Just look at the Philippines.
Very few candidates, in any country in the world, have the set of odds
like those faced by Aquino, the current president!!
And yet the incumbent won by a big landslide majority!
Because the people are extremely incensed by what’s going on in the
country!
Now back to the main theme.
It’s important that the money misappropriated must be
recovered.
And the culprits be meted out their just desserts.
These two conditions MUST be met as the wealth belongs to the
country and its people and no one, but no one, can just do what they
like with it and then thumb their noses at the very people who
suffered by their acts.
It’s not a witch hunt, it’s not anything else!
It’s justice!
As for tying up the country’s resources trying to recover the
misappropriated wealth, the new government can very well set up
a special task force and allocate the proper resources to do the job.
No need to tie up everything. As long as the proceeds recovered
exceeds the expenses and effort, why not?
This will also serve notice on all potential imitators who, after seeing
how criminals can get away with their loot without any retribution,
will think fit to follow suit.
Does anyone know how crimes can be reduced or minimised?
The answer is simple and straight forward.
Make it a non-paying proposition!!
Let me illustrate.
I would use the example about a traffic offense case in Singapore.
Yes, Singapore, the country that brooks no nonsense with law breakers!
A lady (if you can call her one) thumb her nose at the law when issued
with a traffic summon.
She said that the fine was chicken feed to her!
What she didn’t seem to realise is that even minor offenses, if committed
often enough, will be treated as a major offense in squeaky clean Singapore
and she could well end up in jail! For traffic offenses!!
In Europe, traffic offenders are fined according to the wealth they possess
and it could very well burn a hole in the pocket, even for the very rich!
So, in those countries, crime does not pay!
And the result is that criminal offenses are low.
There, you have your answer!
Mull on that!!!
#18 by HJ Angus on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 11:52 am
yes we need to have a proper framework to drastically reduce crime.
Even after so many years of enforcement, Singapore is not graft free and so the headline is somewhat misleading.
Remember the “price for freedom is eternal vigilance”.
You can see this advert in Singapore to caution people. “Low crime does not mean NO crime”.
#19 by boh-liao on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 12:10 pm
Carry on talking – NR n UmnoB like what they saw in Taiwan n hope 2 b like Ma n KMT, thumping victory over challengers
So, now, NR steps up GIVING $$$ 2 rakyat n voters, esp those in PR-ruled states, using OUR $$$ 2 BUY VOTES
NR also doing exercises, mixing with rakyat, fren fren lor, what r frens 4, kasih VOTEs mah
#20 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 12:32 pm
Yes, let’s look at the Philippines: before present president [Cojuangco Aquino III] could get his landslide what has happened before to rid the country of Marcos? First there was a cataclysmic event of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination in 1983 that sparked and galvanized national outrage; then people’s power demonstrationson the streets supported by rebel military/police top officers led by Def Minister Ponce Enrile, Lt.Col Gregorio Honasan & Chief police Ramos not to mention religious leader Cardinal Jaime Sin, and then more importantly the decisive intervention by ex colonial master, then no 1 superpower America that pressured Marcos not to fight but take asylum with Imelda in Honolulu. Are these circumstances similar and can be replicated here? Their political system like American is based on president limited to 6 yr term is directly voted by people (not like ours like British, by party’s delegates); their population by majority more racially & religiously homogenous.
#21 by Jeffrey on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 12:36 pm
Philippines democracy today is therefore a result of 1986 people revolution/demo and military coup led by Enrile Ponce, Lt.Col Gregorio Honasan & Chief police Ramos, supported by American (CIA) and other pressures: it was not a peaceful transition due to electoral victory by opposition, for comparison of arguments.
#22 by pwcheng on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 2:18 pm
Ambiga says “Catch the Big fish and leave the small fish alone”. To me this message has a lot of grey areas and I feel sad that this should not come from Ambiga, who is a lawyer by training. After saying that did she ever thought of
i)where to draw the line between “Big Fish and a small fish”. Corruption to the tune of RM10,000, RM100,000, 1 mil, 10 mil or 100 mil?? For the fact that the country had been devastated by corruptions to the tune of many or hundreds of billions, RM100 mil or for that matter RM250 mil can be considered small fish. To me I think it is not a matter of small fish or big fish, but a wrong is a wrong and where ever there is enough evidence , we must bring the culprits to book. Let’s not send the wrong message that it is Ok to be a small time practitioner of corruption.
ii)The corruption amount might be miniscule, but can wreak havoc to the country and the implication can be devastating. Example immigration officers who collects some few hundred or few thousand Ringgit to allow illegals to come in. In return these illegals rob and maimed or even caused death to our people. Or for that matter the illegals can be a carrier of some dangerous contagious disease and cause a outbreak of the disease here. How do you quantify this. I am sure Ambiga herself knows much more of what is happening in the Immigration. Under the same reasoning, a health inspector who takes only a few hundred ringgit to allow the illegal slaughterhouse to operate and the Puspakom guy who takes the same amount to pass your vehicle which is not road-worthy will be to my mind commits a bigger crime than the person who pays a few million more to acquire a few planes and the extra million goes back to his pockets. The mode of corruption that involves a few hundred ringgit can cause loss of massive number of lives but the second taking of millions is to fill the pockets of someone and loss of wealth by the country. Ambiga please think about this and not be so generous in your amnesty. Please consider the implication and if we were to argue there is no end to it. As a lawyer you should be more prudent in your remarks of the “small fish and big fish business” as any fishy business must come under the same law. By having that remarks, I hope it will not give the small fish more muscles to moonshine their business with impunity. Also such mentality “of spare the rod and spoil the child” will not go down well with the rakyat as it is the rakyat that suffers most with these little Napoleons who are spoilt to the hilt and in some cases “sponsored” by the big fish.
Corruption is an evil: You start small when you are small and will grow with you when you grow. A probationary inspector will be happy to get a few hundred ringgit as corruption money, but when he becomes an Inspector General of police, the takes will be in millions. You have to be tough if you are prepared to fight this evil. I know that she will say, let bygone be bygone and we will address the issue in a holistic manner when the new government takes over. Human are human, which are bound to compare and look at precedence. If you prosecute the officers under the new government for small corruption, there will be turmoil as why is it that “I am prosecuted now when so and so is not prosecuted under the old regime”. Ambiga , you might be a lawyer but you must always remember human nature. To minimize any problems with human you must be fair on all fronts. That is the philosophy governing human nature.
The only problem which you and me knows is that there is massive corruption in the country and if we were to prosecute there will not be enough prisons for all of them. I will definitely agree with you on this. What more the new government will be wasting a lot of time and will be constrained to move on. I agree with you on that too. To overcome this I am sure we can set up different courts to try different corruption levels. The legality can be sorted out but will be tiresome, but worth it in the long run. If you want to be strict and achieve results, it is always tiring and difficult. Any short-cuts will have defects. There is no two way about it.
#23 by pwcheng on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 2:20 pm
“I feel sad that this should not come from Ambiga” should read as “I feel sad that this should come from Ambiga”
#24 by Loh on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 4:37 pm
In 1992 the Thai Military staged a coup against Chatchai government declaring that Chatchai presided over a buffet Cabinet. The new government got the unusually rich politicians to justify how they became that rich, and had the unaccountable wealth of the politicians confiscated.
Let 2012 be a campaign against the buffet Cabinet of Malaysia. Get the parliament to pass a law to make unusually rich politicians return their ill gotten wealth.
There has been no reason for racial disharmony in the country if not for politicians who created racial polarization to stay in power, to enrich themselves. Until corruption in public services is wiped out, crooks will spare no efforts to get elected. When politics cease to be a path to wealth would politics return to their noble objective of governance. To begin the process, corruption must be wiped out. Those who promoted corruption in the country should be made to pay, and seen to liable for recompense.
As for lenient treatment of the accused suspects, it should be dependent on how they cooperate with the authority, and they should be dealt with on a case by case basis.
#25 by sheriff singh on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 5:05 pm
How do you go after the many who have accumulated their wealth through legal means through ‘I help you, you help me’, ‘wink-wink’, ‘member-member’ schemes and the like?
They are not fools but got their deals legally where others just didn’t stand any chance at all. See the many lop-sided sweetheart deals classified under OSA? See the many ‘negotiated deals’ that makes many taxpayers want to cry?
#26 by HJ Angus on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 6:53 pm
IIANM we already have such laws that unexplainable assets can be seized?
#27 by HJ Angus on Sunday, 15 January 2012 - 11:47 pm
wow….my comment awaiting moderator since 6:53pm! Just wonder about the logic of the moderating program…..I know words like AL–H will invoke moderation.
#28 by waterfrontcoolie on Monday, 16 January 2012 - 8:18 am
Asking PR to declare what it would do at this juncture may not mean much. This could also frighten those ‘squeezed’ to get involved to back out. Corruption does not appear over night. It takes years for the current system to ooze into the thinking of all those involved! It is easier when NEP is somehow pulled into the negotiation. In such scenario, the giver will demand something in return, hence all the esay terms for the IPPs, the piratized Ports and now all the Gates. All Malaysians must continue to agitate for their rights to hear and see all contracts made in their names. For a start, all such contracts must be open to the public and not hidden under OSA. As for the cash taken out, we do need the cooperation of the West which when their interests are at stake, they won’t be that democratic and as it is, this is bad time for them! In this respect, PR can’t do much if the West refuse to cooperate!