Corruption: The more things change…


— Qiu Yaofeng
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 08, 2012

OCT 8 — The deputy prime minister said at the weekend that Malaysia’s gains in the Corruption Barometer (CB) over the previous two years showed Putrajaya’s fight against graft was paying off.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin noted that 49 per cent of Malaysians polled in 2011 by Transparency International (TI) thought that the government’s efforts to stamp out corruption were “effective”, up from 28 per cent in 2009.

But the Umno No. 2 conveniently forgot to mention that the proportion of those who responded positively rose by only one percentage point from 2010 to 2011.

So even if the poll were accepted at face value, this suggests Barisan Nasional’s (BN) anti-graft campaign has hit a brick wall, at least as far as the voting public is concerned.

But what is even more underwhelming is the fact that getting 49 per cent of the respondents to say the government has made the right moves is actually not an improvement at all.

That’s because in 2006 that proportion was almost the same at 45 per cent. The year after that, it was markedly higher — 53 per cent.

Only 2009’s outlier result of 28 per cent makes it seem as though Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration has made great strides in tackling graft. But really, we’ve just been spinning our wheels.

Hardly something for BN to crow about, especially this close to elections.

  1. #1 by Jeffrey on Monday, 8 October 2012 - 11:11 pm

    ///Malaysians polled in 2011 by Transparency International (TI) thought that the government’s efforts to stamp out corruption were “effective”, up from 28 per cent in 2009.///

    Yeah maybe that’s because in 2009 the biggest corruption scandal in Malaysia -the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) RM12 billion scandal- broke out, which 2010-2011 supposedly evinced the government’s efforts to stamp out corruption by charging 2 MCA leaders for (not for corruption) but cheating Tun Dr Mahathir (“TDM”) & cabinet, only to end up with TDM coming to the witness box today to say “I was not cheated”, “none of my former officers at the Finance Ministry or the cabinet had met me to say that they were cheated “, RM25 per square foot (psf) of the land is for cash payment. If it is paid in cash, there will be no interest, if it is paid overtime there will be interest” ,”one of the police officers who recorded my statement had remarked that if they had known that, they would not have charged Ling Dr Mahathir” – presto efforts to stamp out corruption shown by charging the MCA leader, except no one would be guilty at the end of the day! What a farce!

  2. #2 by Jeffrey on Monday, 8 October 2012 - 11:19 pm

    How can one charge someone for cheating someone else before checking out with that someone else whether he was cheated in the first place? What kind of sandiwara is this?Its like charging someone for rape without finding out with the supposed victim whether that was really the case and only to find out at trial, when the supposed victim came to court as defence witness to say that the accused was a boyfriend with whom there was consensual sex!

  3. #3 by boh-liao on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 5:53 am

    Y r we waiting 4 d latest AudGen’s Report?
    Anything 2 hide?

  4. #4 by yhsiew on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 6:50 am

    Malaysia’s gains in the Corruption Barometer (CB) over the previous two years will be NEGATED by the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal and other corruption scandals. It is going to be a zero-sum gain in the end!

  5. #5 by Bigjoe on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 7:29 am

    Popular perception does not count. All that has happened is that Corruption has moved to places that the public cannot see. Defense contracts, AP for palm oil – all conveniently hidden from the public view and better covered up…

    The waste and abuse is just as bad or higher..

  6. #6 by Bigjoe on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 7:39 am

    This morning saw some fresh campaign material up. Obviously trial run to get the machinery ready..GE is here..

  7. #7 by SENGLANG on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 8:17 am

    Every body can tell you that corruption is bad and damaging to a country economy etc etc. Say is one thing doing is another thing. Coming from BN second to PM will not mean anything as we all know corrupt practises are a norm and has even become a culture since M’s time. He has even say it in open court that a politician will doing thing what so ever as far as it will make him popular. That is popular is the objective and he will do all things that will make him popular.

    What you have to do it to make many many supporters happy and they will make him popular. Thus money is the easiest way to buy popularity. So that is the root cause of Malaysia’s today ills.

  8. #8 by yhsiew on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 8:34 am

    ///But really, we’ve just been spinning our wheels.///

    Agreed. If DPM’s claim is true then we should see “big fishes” landed in jail.

  9. #9 by dagen wanna "ABU" on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 8:35 am

    “Oppan Umno Style”
    “Um”
    “Um”
    “Um”
    “Umno Style”

  10. #10 by monsterball on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 10:22 am

    The never ending pattern…telling all the good news and hide the bad ones.
    It’s a government that is teaching young Malaysians how to lie with a smile.

  11. #11 by Godfather on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 10:33 am

    “How can one charge someone for cheating someone else before checking out with that someone else whether he was cheated in the first place? What kind of sandiwara is this?”

    This is called the dance of the den of thieves. They were desperate to show something, anything, but they know that they can’t go down the route of the money trail. They know they can’t charge Rahman Pahlil of Selangor UMNO. They know they can’t charge Tiong since he was chairman of the Backbenchers Club and financed the infamous “study tour” for all BN MPs to Taiwan. They know they can’t charge Azim as he was UMNO treasurer.

    So they charge a has-been, with charges that they KNOW are ridiculous and could never stick. They go through the script, and spent millions of ringgit to bring about the trial, a trial with ZERO chance of success. They tell you that it’s subjudice to talk about the PKFZ scandal, so at least they have achieved the objective of silencing the rakyat for quite some time.

    So why hasn’t counsel for Ling moved to have his client set free ? What exactly has been agreed between prosecution and defence ?

  12. #12 by Godfather on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 10:35 am

    So the legal timeline hasn’t been properly synchronised with the timing of the election. This bit of news was supposed to come out only after the elections, so the procrastination of Najib has thrown a spanner into the works.

  13. #13 by Jeffrey on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 1:09 pm

    ///So they charge a has-been, with charges that they KNOW are ridiculous and could never stick/// – Godfather.

    Of all “Has beens” its ex MCA top leaders. To MCA why you so privileged one?

  14. #14 by Godfather on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 1:17 pm

    Cos the MCA leadership at the time was a “yes sir, yes sir, three bags full” leadership which held the Transport portfolio and was willing to “assist” in the Ali-Baba rip-off by Tiong and UMNO. Have no fear, UMNO said. Lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu.

  15. #15 by Godfather on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 1:36 pm

    Don’t forget that the has-been’s son was bailed out during Mamakthir’s time when the banks wanted to go after the billions of defaulted loans taken to buy into companies like Red Box, etc.

  16. #16 by monsterball on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 1:45 pm

    Mahathir told the Judge on Lin’s court case that Ling was incapable to cheat.
    He did not say Ling was capable of lying like him.
    Anyway….read..observe and enjoy the rouges and thieves performances..

  17. #17 by Godfather on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 2:06 pm

    Ong Tee Keat had to be removed because he was getting very close to the money trail with the help of Lee Hwa Beng. No matter what, this government will never allow anyone to get on to the money trail because then it will become very clear who were the beneficiaries of the PKFZ scam. Unless, of course, there is a regime change.

  18. #18 by dagen wanna "ABU" on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 3:17 pm

    “Satu Umno Style.”
    “Umno Style.”

    That is all there is to umno. Always clowning around. No no no no. More like horsing about ala “Umno style.”

  19. #19 by waterfrontcoolie on Tuesday, 9 October 2012 - 4:02 pm

    Of course the Mamak wasn’t cheated but the Cabinet cheated the people of Malaysia. By his tone, he still thought Malaysians must be a REAL bunch of morons or at least those who supported BN blindly! In any other country the whole Cabinet should be carbonated and put away! There is no need for court appearance or hearing!

You must be logged in to post a comment.