We often accuse the West of moral relativism, but today it is obviously also very much embedded in our culture and way of life. There is currently a profound confusion in our culture regarding ethics and morals. Historically, ethics has been defined and upheld by all cultures and civilisations. Ethics is a normative science concerned with discovering the norms that must govern our lives. Ethics tells as what we 'ought to do'.

Morals, on the other hand, are traditionally a descriptive science. It surveys a given culture and tells us what the majority of its citizens practice. Morals describe what 'is', not necessarily what should be, says Tabletalk , a monthly journal produced by Ligonier Ministries in the US.

We have been witnessing how a member of our Parliament was at the core and heart of promoting moral relativism in our country. First, there was an outburst by this person against the director-general of the Customs and Excise Department for being too 'publicity conscious'. Then the New Straits Times breaks the news about an MP asking the department's Malacca branch to 'close on eye' regarding the import of 'illegal sized logs'. But, customs department is only an enforcement agency and the definition of the size of logs falls under another government agency, the Malaysian Timber Industry Board.

Therefore, whether we like it or not the customs officer is not allowed by authority and jurisdiction to 'close one eye'. This means his request was really related to closing both eyes, and the NST adequately captured this nuance in their headlines. Then the Attorney-General finds out that this is not the first offence, but and this company owned by the MP was compounded many times previously on related matters.