'I am adamant that my agenda not be mere sweet promises. The government and party that I lead have proved that we work for the rakyat and not for votes.'

His agenda? Among others, an all-out campaign against corruption - without fear or favour. And to promote a culture of zero tolerance for corruption. Lofty ideals indeed.

Remember that?

Those are the words of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in the 2004 Barisan Nasional's manifesto.

Barely three years later, Abdullah's government of 'excellence, glory and distinction' - at least to his spin-doctors - is being battered by allegations of corruption involving two of its top officials - the nation's top cop and the former head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, who was once a senior police officer.

Clearly, the prime minister has been left reeling by the stunning allegations, especially when he heads the ministry which the two answer to, and more importantly, when his government must go to the polls in the coming months.

No wonder Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail has been busy lately.

Early this month, he cleared Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum - who is Abdullah's deputy in the ministry - of allegedly receiving RM5 million in return for the release of three underworld figures.

Last Friday, he closed the books on police chief Musa Hassan - also for allegedly pocketing RM2 million to free three gangsters - and ex-ACA director Zulkipli Mat Noor , who was hit by 28 allegations of corruption.

While at it, the government's top legal officer also exonerated Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman , who allegedly paid Zulkipli RM700,000 to stop an ACA probe on him. Incidentally, both individuals became Gani's buddies when he was in Sabah.

All three men cleared in one single day. Impressive indeed.

Corruption is like sex

Syed Ahmad Idid, the ex-judge famous for blowing the whistle on the rot in the judiciary 11 years ago - and made to pay for it - once lamented that unearthing corruption was no easy task.

"Corruption is like sex - done between consenting adults and mostly in private," he quipped at a public lecture two months ago.

"Often times when one party is satisfied and the other is not - that's when one reports the other and you have a problem. But if both parties are satisfied, both get whatever they bargained for, then the ACA will find it a bit more difficult to probe into the matter."

Difficult, yes, but not impossible.

Investigative Journalism 101 teaches us that while we may not be able to conclusively prove an act of corruption, we can still follow the money.

This means inspecting suspected individuals' golf club memberships, overseas holidays, exclusive schools for their kids, mistresses if any, luxury penthouses, condos, cars, stocks and other investments.

True, most if not all, use proxies to hide their ill-gotten assets.

Which is why their spouses and children must be investigated too. Even if their proxies are not immediate family members, there's still a temptation for the culprits to spend the loot. After all, what's the use of stashing the money away until the day you die?

Take Zulkipli - he allegedly owned, either directly or indirectly, six houses, three shoplots, two petrol service stations, a KL condo, a penthouse in Australia, and a few lots of oil palm and resort land.

Surely the ACA officers know where to look. They are all experienced investigators. What the public does not trust are their political bosses.

Without fear or favour

We have said , time and again, that all key public officials and their immediate families must declare their wealth. And such declarations should not be for the PM's eyes only.

Over the years, there have been many ACA reports lodged against powerful politicians, senior civil servants and well-connected tycoons. Not surprisingly, all their files were closed with NFA - No Further Action - stamped on them.

You know why? Because the government is frightened of what it will find if it takes action.

Which brings us back to Abdullah's pledge three years ago - that he would wage an all-out war against corruption, without fear or favour. And this was not some sweet election promise, he vowed.

Come the next general elections, Abdullah's spin-doctors will be back at work again.

Excellence, glory and distinction? You decide.