In China recently, several senior officials - including one in Heilongjiang convicted of stealing RM700,000 - have received suspended death sentences or life sentences.

Officially, China has done away with death by firing squads for those sentenced in commercial or corruption cases; this perhaps due to pressure from western human rights organisations.

China prosecutes over 7,000 corrupt officials and makes a point of each one. They are serious about cleaning up.

In Malaysia, it is public knowledge that corruption exists in virtually every branch of government office. It is common for government servants to ‘request' monetary rewards to do their job. This exists not only at the higher levels but also at every level.

It has become a culture not only in public service but also in some purchasing departments of private companies as well. It has gotten to a cancerous stage and it is killing Malaysian society. People actually seek to get rich in such ways.

The Malaysian government unfortunately lacks the political will and determination to clean up corruption. It is almost impossible to be serious about this issue when your bosses and political masters do not exactly have clean hands.

The lack of political will and determination to arrest this menace is going to destroy Malaysia and we will soon find ourselves thrown back to a poor Third World status country. The lack of integrity and honesty in government and, worst of all, the state of denial is going to destroy our economy, our government and our society.

We will soon be like our poorer Asian neighbours in the 70s and 80s. These countries pay the price today for an economy in shambles, having to send out their youths and children as maids and foreign workers.

Malaysia, if she is not careful, will soon fall that way. We have to be serious with corruption and if this present government is unable to do that, we will have to change ‘drivers'.