A cynic once quipped that corruption, like prostitution, is as old as human civilisation - and he is right.

A Chinese proverb says "if you serve as a clean governor for three years, you can get enough wealth to feed your three generations".

Every proficient student of Chinese ancient history knows that the books always mention the rampant corruption of palace officials. Some argue over which dynasty was the most corrupt, the Song (960 AD-1279) or the Ming (1368-1644). Whatever the answer, the fact is that corruption persisted from dynasty to dynasty.

Is human nature the cause, one might ask? Reminiscent of ancient times, but surprisingly relevant to modern-day politicians, the first Ming Emperor Ming Taizu said, "When I chose these people (imperial court officials), they were so pure and with great aspirations, but, just a few years later, they are all corrupt and greedy!"

It is a global problem. What is the nature of corruption? How does corruption seep into a non-corrupt society? Why is it so resistant to reform? What could be an effective strategy to limit corruption?

There are no ready answers or solutions. Corruption remains a major cause and result of poverty around the world. As an academic subject, the raging debate has branched out into multifarious issues involving all levels of society from governments, civil society, the judiciary and the army, to other services.

The sad fact remains that most anti-corruption drives and investigations fail due to lack of political will and integrity of the government.

Yale University professor of accounting, economics and finance James L Frank wrote in a paper entitled, 'Thinking about Corruption' in 2001: "Corruption is not simply a problem of greedy man and women using public office for private gain. It is a degenerated state of expectations that citizens hold about the behaviour of one another.

"Expectations or culture, of proper behaviour are a type of wealth of a society and are as important as human resources and natural resources. When people expect corrupt behaviour from one another, the expectations capital is depleted, and the society becomes and stays corrupt."

Deviant behaviour

Corrupt practice does not necessarily involve transactions in hard cash. Corrupt practices have evolved faster than the cockroach and have survived better than the dinosaur.

Between the willing giver and willing taker, the modus operandi has become more sophisticated and harder to detect in modern times. It is simple when it involves a bribe between a willing giver (traffic offender) to a willing taker (policeman) and more sophisticated when the willing giver is a corporate player and the willing taker is a politician.

Frank made a further observation in his paper with which Malaysians are probably very familiar: "Politicians and people gleefully co-operated with civil servants to generate this downward vortex of social norms. Politicians started using the power of their offices to gather money to finance their political campaigns, or became dictators. Attempts to put limits on contributions pushed campaign financing under the table. Even the developed industrial societies have not solved this problem satisfactorily yet. Many citizens were willing to pay a bribe to get ahead. Others remained silent."

He recommended various measures to prevent or reduce the level of corrupt practice, among others, like enforcement, education, modernising the payment system and election financing reforms but more importantly, a citizenry forming a grassroots movement to push for a more transparent and accessible government.

Easy citizen access of the government rules and policies, combined with transparency of government decisions and actions makes any deviant behaviour known to and questioned by the public, he wrote, adding that an open system lets citizens see that many people in government do their job honestly and diligently and help rebuild the "exceptional capital".

In 2004, Transparency International-Malaysia president Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim acknowledged that many of the problems in town and country planning are traceable directly to corruption in local government.

Malaysian NGO leader Dr Chandra Muzaffar has rightly said that laws alone cannot fight corruption. He says it is important to inculcate a sense of outrage in citizens and to ensure that values like honesty, self- worth and integrity become the essence of Malaysian life.

There must be many questions relating to corruption in the minds of concerned Malaysians in view of the next general election.

How will influential politicians raise funds for their election war-chest? What action will be taken to correct the perception that local government administration is a cesspool of corruption?

Should Malaysians vote in a government that treats money as the barometer of a society's virtue or one that deems money to be "the most egalitarian force" in society? Or should they vote on conscience, after examining whether the government has exercised transparency, accountability and integrity?

Gautama Buddha once advised his followers. "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

Or as a spiritual teacher said. "Giving overwhelming support to a government is like choosing your own mind. Too much power to the wrong government would be like creating a hell in your heaven (mind)."

STANLEY KOH works for a Malaysian think-tank.