As an international graduate who has just made one of the biggest lifetime decisions to uproot back to Kuala Lumpur, I would like to share some of my thoughts about life back home.  I left Malaysia for Melbourne at fifteen years of age and have been there ever since.

After five years of being in a country where the public transport is efficient (relatively!), where streets are clean, crime rates maintained at a controllable level and traffic jams a rarity, you would think that one would never wish to return home.  Nevertheless I still made the huge decision to pack up after five years of my wonderful life there and start working in Malaysia for some personal reasons.

Let’s move on. I was out with several good friends of mine from university and one of my closest buddies (let’s name him X) announced that he was recently issued with a RM150 fine for D.U.I ( D riving U nder the I nfluence of alcohol). After denying it long and hard, X finally admitted that he had a couple of drinks before driving home. Just his luck! He was stopped by a policeman and asked to blow into the breathalyser.

Apparently on the first blow, the indicator turned green which meant that X’s blood alcohol level was acceptable. But the policeman insisted that he perform the test again and the second time around, the indicator turned red.  According to X, the policeman then insisted that the fine was RM3,000 but after some ‘bargaining’, the fine then went down to RM150.      

This, dear readers, is the dirtiest form of corruption that most of you would have had the joy of experiencing. Note the sarcasm. This is appalling and unacceptable but what shocked me most were the reactions of my friends.

“Wah, the policeman must have done something to the breathalyser. That’s why la cannot pass,” and of course X’s reply, “Yeah, I wasn’t drinking that much but then he wanted to fine me so I paid him all I had. Not bad right, RM150 also they take’.

Back home, I kept thinking about their reactions to X’s unfortunate encounter. These reactions were the reactions of my wealthy, extremely educated bunch of friends who have had every opportunity in the world handed to them on a silver platter. These are the same people whom I guarantee you, dear readers, would never (and I can bet my life on this!) drink and drive in Melbourne due to the strict penalties.

The question I pose to you: why would my friends respect the rules of a country that does not recognise them as a citizens more than that their beloved domicile of origin? Most answers to that would probably be ‘Because Australia treats us equally’ or my ultimate favourite: ‘Because they’re not corrupted’.

Let me make myself clear before we move on. I do not, even for a second in my life. approve of the policeman’s actions of taking that money nor would I put it past our law enforcers to tamper with X’s breathalyser test. What I am horrified about is how foolish it was for X who was intoxicated to get into a moving vehicle.

I believe that the only reason he dared to do so was because he was in Malaysia and there is an apparent belief amongst society that ‘its Malaysia-lah. You can get away with anything. Police will take one’.

After realisation dawned, I was immediately filled with disappointment. Disappointment because it is taken for granted in society nowadays that corruption in Malaysia is somewhat a way of life. That even the educated and privileged such as X could sink so low and undermine themselves to a level no different than the policeman who took the bribe.

Stop it, I beg you Malaysians, stop it. This is Malaysia’s downfall. The actions of people who believe that the rules in Malaysia are meant to be bent according to their liking. The sick mentality that corrupting one law enforcer will allow you to get away with a mistake which could have been life-threatening not only to you but others out there.  

As we all know, our country is going through a lull right now. The political instability and racial divisions due to unhappy citizens are evident from recent events but from my story here, I hope that I have managed to convey one small message: Malaysia will remain corrupted only if YOU  as a Malaysian allow it.

Fellow Malaysians, your small action of saying ‘no’ to a policeman will make one really big difference. Always remember that one man might cause a stir, 20,000 might cause a hiccup but an entire nation? An entire nation can make a difference.

Fight for what you believe in. Fight for what is truly ours. Fight for Malaysia.