COMMENT It is silly of Senator Paul Low to compare transparency and good governance with pornography.

The two are a world apart, and I cannot believe it that one of our cabinet ministers subscribes to such absurdity, more so, someone who considers his cabinet appointment two years ago as a ‘divine’ calling.

Low cannot take cover by saying that the illustration came from one of his foreign counterparts. He used it for his own illustration.

In the first place, he has not said whether the so-called counterpart of his is from the more advanced nations or from another Third World nation, where corruption is a way of life.

In countries where corruption is not as rampant, an audit once a year may be good enough, but in Malaysia, despite having three audits a year, corruption is on the rise.

The lack of transparency, in particular the scandalous 1MDB, is what concerns most Malaysians, since the money is borrowed money that is guaranteed by the Malaysian government.

And with Low bringing in the pornography illustration, it is like rubbing salt into the wound of the people.

Low should be urging greater transparency so that people know what is happening to the money borrowed by 1MDB. He should be advising Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that there ought to be greater transparency in handling the issue of RM2.6 billion in his personal bank accounts.

All the whitewashing that Low is doing is not going to help Najib’s predicament, but put him and the country in worse scenario.

Corruption? No, just wastages and crime prevention

In the Malaysiakini report , Low is quoted saying that the Auditor-General’s Report is very detailed in every transaction, but as a former Transparency International-Malaysia president, he has conveniently forgotten that, despite all the wrongdoings highlighted by the report, not much action has been taken against the perpetrators.

This will only embolden more civil servants to carry on with business as usual. Corruption, what corruption?

Wastages, despite being intentional, have become the very means for civil servants to siphon more public funds through various channels.

I am told that when you withdraw your Employees Provident Fund (EPF) money, you will be given a form to sign which comes with an additional three or four other pages showing you how to fill in the form.

The moment you hand in the signed copy of the form to the counter, the EPF officer would remove these few pages and discard them into the wastepaper basket. I cannot believe any literate person would not know how to fill in a simple form!

There are much better ways to ensure that the forms are completed properly than to waste paper and cut down more trees. I am sure that along the chain of supply, there is someone benefiting from the additional costs of printing. Sounds familiar?

Low is also fully aware of the way how foreigners are being harassed by some police constables, after I personally brought it to his attention. But it is all talk and no action.

Roadblocks are set up supposedly as a crime preventive measure; but the boys in blue also double up as immigration officers and traffic police looking into traffic offences.

To date, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has not done much to nab the rogue policemen, who are allegedly asking for anything between RM500 and RM1,000 for each illegal foreign worker they manage to find.

This is why foreigners feel unsafe in Malaysia, despite carrying a proper visa. This is the general feeling I gather from speaking with some foreigners in the country. The problem has become so bad that I had encountered three occasions, within this year alone, where I had to personally intervene with the help of senior officers at Bukit Aman and the MACC.

To date, there is no big dragnet cast out to nab the corrupt officials. Since becoming a cabinet minister, Low has yet to give a full account of actions being taken against the civil servants who appear ‘wasteful’ or work with the police or the MACC to clean up the bad apples on the ground.

What is more apparent to us is that since accepting his cabinet position, Low appears more interested in whitewashing the wrongs done by the ruling party. He appears to have lost all bearings as to what is right and wrong.

White no longer exists as white. Black is now turned to grey to make things look good. We do not need such expensive apologists like Low, but Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders should be more transparent with their handling of public monies and be accountable for their actions.

What is OSA, Low?

I wish to point out to Low that, contrary to his illustration that too much transparency is akin to pornography, since former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time, it is the layers of opacity with the Official Secrets Act (OSA) that are helping to encourage corruption at the highest levels.

Whistleblowers have been prosecuted, while the swindlers and corrupt officers have got away with public funds. What does Low have to say about the OSA? Almost every government document these days is stamped OSA, which should be used only for top military secrets that will compromise our national security.

All other documents should be subject to public scrutiny to ensure that there is sufficient transparency in the country’s public governance. These are the good values that a cabinet minister like Low should concentrate on, instead of talking about pornography.

Corruption is worse than pornography. It comes with a hefty price, and if we continue to ignore the voices of our conscience, and the voice from above, the consequences of corruption can be very great.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.