By Tunku Abdul Aziz

THE UPSURGE of interest in integrity and ethics is not without a good reason. People all over the world have realized that human progress is unlikely to be sustainable without all of us adopting and embracing universal human values – values that transcend cultural, religious and political barriers.

In Malaysia we have the best legal framework, rules, regulations and procedures, but corrupt practices continue unchecked because those entrusted to serve the community are themselves morally and ethically deficient and devoid of ethical values and high standards of personal and public behaviour.

If we lose our competitive position because we are corrupt and lack integrity, we are putting our future as a nation at risk. Corruption kills competition, breeds inefficiency, distorts our decision making processes and promotes social and political instability in the long run. I believe that in societies where integrity is firmly entrenched, corruption can be kept firmly under control.

We have to refocus our vision and reshape our views and ideas on what can be done to fight unethical public behaviour, not only on our own turf, but equally important, on the international front because cross-border corruption represents a major source of social, economic and political instability and distortion, if not dealt with decisively.

In the globalised world in which we operate with its own set of demanding rules of engagement, with emphasis on transparency and accountability, we have to learn quickly to be adaptable or we will be marginalized.

However described, corruption exacts a heavy toll on a nation’s social, political, and economic development. Anyone trying to persuade you that corruption is a victimless crime is just being cynical.

There are victims out there all right, if only we care to open our eyes. As always, they represent the underclass, and are among the poorest, and the least informed and educated members of our society. They are men and women who because of their economic status do not even know their rights as citizens.

The recent Malaysian Indian demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur could well have been a manifestation of a sense of being excluded from mainstream economic and social development. There are large numbers of people in Peninsular, Sarawak and Sabah who are in the same boat, and the government must ensure that its service delivery meets their expectations.

I very much hope that we are not fighting corruption for its own sake, or just to feel good for that would be tantamount to abandoning a large part of mankind to perpetual misery and degradation in the face of the relentless onslaught of human greed. We fight corruption not only to be globally competitive, but more to the point, to bring about social justice and to make a difference to the lives of the poor, the real victims of corruption.

The long term, sustainable prosperity of any country depends entirely on good governance, a comprehensive, overarching system for managing the often complex social, economic and political needs of a modern state, underpinned by strong ethical principles.

The current financial crisis has many lessons for us. One is that there is really no substitute for international standards of business conduct; standards that are firmly grounded in transparency, accountability and integrity. Bad governance, whether private sector or government, contributes directly to inefficiency and corruption. Every financial crisis that has hit our nation has had elements of inefficiency, greed and corruption in the final equation. An absence of integrity is not good for business, especially international business.

Corruption in Malaysia is alive and well as revealed in survey after survey. The latest to confirm this is a report released by the World Bank. The economic strength and prosperity of our nation must begin with confronting and resolving our internal structural weaknesses, of which corruption is a serious impediment to global competitiveness.

We have to keep ourselves abreast of best international practices if there is to be a return of public confidence in the way we conduct our business affairs. We have to raise the ethical bar by putting ethics in the driving seat.

The international punishment for breaches of business ethics meted out to a country perceived to be corrupt such as ours can be swift and damaging in real terms.

Ethical behaviour is no longer the luxury of the virtuous; it has become a business necessity. Malaysia’s capacity to prosper must be predicated on the highest international ethical standards. The way forward for Malaysia is to embrace integrity and put it to good use in our fight for a place at the global top table of clean nations. Is the government up to the task?