YOURSAY 'The rent-seeking class is the biggest culprit in our corrupt culture, and this is done with the connivance of the government.'

Kill middleman to kill corruption, shoots Low

your say Avatar 111: I suppose when we talk about middlemen, we are not referring to the runners in JPJ (Road Transport Department) or Immigration Department or related government agencies - these people are just the by-products of the corrupt system.

We should be referring to all big-time cronies/companies/GLCs (government-linked companies) who get the jobs/projects awarded to them through big-time connections but sublet the work to others and enjoy the huge mark-ups without doing the actual work.

There is a network of people and companies involved, and the cost marked-up can be a few times over actual prices.

If the country is able to save the costs of the middleman, we can probably run a surplus in the budget and there would be no need to introduce GST (Goods and Services Tax) or even increase fuel prices.

Anonymous_40c3: Minister in charge of integrity, Paul Low, we know who the middlemen are so don't play with words. Only the privileged few can enter this class, so please stop stating the obvious.

You insult your own intelligence when you repeatedly circumvent arguments to buttress what's already known. It's required of you to champion the rights of the people to make a difference in the government.

We know it's difficult but that's the price you pay to be part of the system.

Ratbatblue: Can Low tell us something new for a change? The fight against corruption must take place at every level for this menace to be eliminated.

As usual, the small fish will be sacrificed for the bigger ones who have the right connections in strategic places so that any punitive action against these big boys will be ineffective.

For starters, on the part of the lay public, ordinary folk should think twice before trying to grease the palms of enforcement officers to impress upon them that under no circumstances can an infraction be settled by bribery or other inducements.

Ksn: Low, the public knows that corruption has permeated all aspects of life where public funds are involved.

This has been the norm, not the exception, the practice for the last 30 years. Have you thought about who are involved in the process?

Not just the middlemen but the government, the politicians, the top civil servants are corrupt. If these people are not corrupt - and have integrity - are in politics to serve the nation, there will not be corruption.

They are not serving the country, but actually working in the interests of cronies, proxies and families at great cost to the nation.

That is where your fight against corruption should begin. So Low, make the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) independent with competent people to run it with integrity. Then things will fall into place.

Swipenter: The Ali Baba business model is the biggest incentive for corruption. Awarding contracts to non-qualified outfits because of race is a prerequisite. And they later subcontract it to those qualified, as well as those unqualified, to do the work.

In short, the rent-seeking class is the biggest culprit in our corrupt culture, and this is done with the connivance of the government.

The big fish are involved in big-time corruption involving millions, small fish engage in small sums of as little as RM10.

Corruption is a way of life here whether in business or getting things done in government departments. The ‘closed one eye' government is responsible for this sad state of affairs.

Stories: Why would the government want whistleblowers to report corruption to them?

After all, a lot of things are made public every year in the Auditor General's Report and nothing gets done. And those who blow the whistle, get a date in court.

4W4K3N1N6: Don't hear much about middlemen in Singapore, do we? Is there a need for middleman if the government is clean?

Senior: Most middlemen are cronies. What about unnecessary outsourcing - like foreign student visas which cost RM100 now cost RM1,800 outsourced (to cronies?)

Anonymous #02382443: There is no need for the requirement of having someone looking over the shoulders of the implementers. All the government has to do is ensure all projects and spending are done through proper bidding in the most transparent and competitive manner.

There is no need to be clever. All the procedures are available in the Treasury instructions and financial regulations that came into force when we first became independent, but which are now gathering dust in the remote corners of ministries and government departments.

Dont Just Talk: Low, your comment is irrelevant. Just toe the line like deputy minister P Waythamoorthy or resign from the cabinet.

No one can be servant of two masters, either you serve God or money; get the drift? By the way, why are there eight ministers in the 1Malaysia PM's Department and what are their portfolios/job descriptions?

Paul Warren: Hello, how else are Umno cronies going to get their dues? As if Low doesn't know what he is talking.

Of the RM30 billion of the new initiative for bumiputeras, one would imagine a substantial portion of it will be awarded to those who basically will act as the middlemen. Someone else will be commissioned to do the job. Like as if we don't know.

Hplooi: The issue is not complex. Instituting good governance (every well-run company has this as standard operating procedure) is the way.

Decouple procurement from the political process. Have transparent quality-based assessment for contract procurement and 80 percent of your problem will be solved.

However organising integrity seminars, getting players to sign integrity pacts, appointing 500 integrity commissars to be stationed in government executive organs, etc, will not solve the problem.

Most damagingly, it will add thin veneer of respectability to politicians who have been and will still be addicted to the pork-barrelling.

CiViC: Low has just woke up from his slumber. The same things had been mentioned by BN in the last GE campaign, and the one before that, and before that.

Not only nothing has been done, it has gone from bad to worse. Now that Low has done his job of saying this out loud, he can go back to sleep.

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