///He (Najib) told reporters at the 20th Asean-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit on Jeju Island that Mansor Othman’s win was “not exciting” as the voter turnout was less than 50 per cent and “a win against independent candidates is not an absolute win…something that one can be proud of”.///

Some 46% of the voters cast their votes. Had the turnout be 80% and the balance voted for UMNO, BN would not get more than 4,500 votes. The majority would still be more than 1,500 votes. Since UMNO knew all along that it would lose, and loser would never claim the game to be exciting. Certainly among the absentees were those who would have voted for Mansor. They were confident of the win and stayed away. UMNO would have shown to have lost more votes if BN took part. Najib was smarter than TDM by not contesting, but his statement shows that it only by a small margin.

If UMNO and Gerakan did not support independent candidates, Najib would have said that the win was not a win when return unopposed. His UMNO Presidency was not a win, but the regulations in UMNO ensured that there was no challenger. Had Tengku Razaleigh been allowed to contest we would have known for certain whether Najib ascension was something that he could be proud of.

Sorry, off-topic
From chedet.co.cc

THE ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW
By
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
on June 2, 2009 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

///1. We need a law against corruption just as we need laws against all crimes. But sometimes the laws are so framed that they promote crime rather than prevent them. Such a law is the Malaysian law on corruption.///– TDM

The Malaysian government under BN has the knack to do the wrong thing for the right reason.

///2. It seems logical and right that those who receive illegal gratification should be considered guilty of breaking the law and should therefore be punished. But when we talk of corruption we think of those endowed with power abusing their power in order to gain personal benefit. We think that those who offer gratification as being the victim and should be given some consideration.///– TDM

Corruption of the largest case has the government as the victim. Government projects and purchases have always been awarded based on public tender until TDM came along. Negotiated contracts reduced the worth of ringgit to a fraction of it, possible less than 30 sen. The persons who have the authority to approve projects have the authority to use the power to benefit whoever they wish to. The profit can find ways to return to the approving authority. In this case nobody offers gratification.

The so-called ‘service’ for the maintenance of the well known submarine was worth 500 million ringgit, said to be provided by the vendor. Clearly that money could have been retained had the government decided to conduct the ‘service’ itself. That could be easily done since the company which were supposed to provide the so-called service was set up by Baginda Razak who is not known to possess specialist knowledge on submarine. The Defence Ministry would have more experts and the required personnel to undertake those services. There is no law against hundreds of millions of ringgit paid out of discretion.

///3. But the law says that those who pay for the service they receive should also be considered as guilty and should be equally deserving of punishment.

4. Since both the giver and the recipient may be charged with corruption, both would be unwilling to report the incident. This of course make corruption difficult if not impossible to be brought to a court of law and tried successfully.///– TDM

The argument sounds reasonable. But when sodomy carried out with mutual consent will have both parties found guilty of the act, yet Saiful chose to report the case to police, it appears that there is exception to common sense.

///5. Besides the process of law would be much prolonged, as each would seek lawyers to argue on his behalf. Not only will the trial take ages but the result can be quite unpredictable.///– TDM

The results of court case depend on the interest the government has on them. Lingam was known to be able to fix them.

///6. But there is another factor. The person reporting would be marked by those sympathetic to the other party so that it would affect his dealings with them as well. If they are Government servants whose approval would be needed, the approvals may not be forthcoming at all later, even if other officers are involved.///– TDM

This is a profound statement. TDM cannot be said not to have intimate knowledge of the mechanics of corruption.

///7. Because of the ineffectiveness of the laws corrupt people often get away with their corrupt practices.///– TDM

It is the enforcement. There were 18 sharks whose cases were ripe for prosecution during TDM’s reign but left unprosecuted. It was not the law that was the problem. Had the cases been put through the court, the government would have been able to pinpoint the so-called ineffective clauses in the law.

///8. Yet corruption is such a bane on society that it must be stopped somehow. If the law is ineffective then it must be made to be effective. One of the ways is to give immunity to the aggrieved party reporting the case, provided that the evidence was substantial and not perjury.///– TDM

When political master used the evidence of corruption to ensure loyalty at pain of being charged, they did not think it was necessary to stop corruption. They in fact encouraged corruption so that the perpetrators could be filmed for record to ensure compliance. Giving immunity to whistle blowers would help, provided the acts coincide with the interest of the powers-that-be.

///9. In the case of political corruption both parties may be willing participants. The bribe is given by a candidate to a willing recipient to gain support for himself. Both are therefore unlikely to complain and reveal the act.///– TDM

Political corruption is secondary corruption after the politicians had laid their hands on government coffers with impunity. It is because of the availability of funds which allows people to buy support, and it is because political positions enable them to make enormous gains that it pays to buy support. Without corruption in the government, there will not be money politics

///10. The recipients on the other hand would be glad to receive the bribe, unless he is a person of high principal unwilling to betray the cause his party was fighting for.

11. In political corruption it would be extremely difficult to get evidence of the bribe being given or received. Electronics now play a role to hide the act. The money is deposited into the account of the person (voter) concerned via the ATM machines. The recipient would be called via phone to ask whether the money had been received, giving the name of the candidate.///– TDM

If the government is sincere to wipe out money politics, it should stop easy access to government funds to politicians. The issue of money politics has been raised only to prevent persons of the opposite camp from winning. It is politics of money politics that was in play.

///12. Despite the difficulties for detection, a Government that is truly determined to prevent corruption can find ways of detecting corruption. But if the Government itself is corrupt then corruption cannot be stopped. In fact corruption would spread in every direction and would become a way of life. At this stage nothing can really be done. ///– TDM

If the statement of ‘at this stage nothing can really be done’ means that TDM has detected ubiquitous corruption, then he should realise that for it to be so widespread, it could not have started only during AAB time as PM. Was TDM trying to plead ignorance of corruption during his time? Nice try, but who believes him?