The frequent news of corruption and mismanagement-related issues such as the PKFZ scandal, the Sime Darby fiasco and the ‘support letters’ fiasco in Selangor have stimulated various comments among the politicians and Malaysians in general. The cry for accountability is very much alive among discerning Malaysians.

There have been many calls to clamp down on corruption by giving more prosecution powers to the MACC and indeed, this should be taken up by the government if its serious in fighting corruption.

But there is also another aspect of corruption which is a equally critical and that is seldom debated where corruption is concerned - it is the lack of decisiveness among government ministers in nipping corruption at the source.

This is much related to incompetence which is rooted in the culture of face-saving and the failure to separate partisan political expendiency from professional governance. For an example, was it not due to the initial failure of professional verification on the part of cabinet ministers that in the end brought about the ballooning of the cost of the PKFZ project?

Several reports had to be made on this scandal to get the authorities to act besides the inability and failure of the sitting prime minister at that time to take decisive action against those cabinet ministers who were considered critical political allies. And was it not the lack of foresight and decisiveness on the part of an exco member that brought about scandal of the ‘support letters’?

The similarities of the issues mentioned and type of responses that were made by the respective leaders clearly reveal that issues of such magnitude could have been resolved if there had been decisive action on the part of the top leadership of the government. This could have save the taxpayers money.

This besides acknowledging and building professional integrity which is so critical in attracting investments to this country. It is also amusing to see that a disciplinary committee of a political party conducting an inquiry into poor governance by an exco member (related to the ‘support letters’) instead of the state government.

The salient point here is that the lower officials were far more easier to prosecute or sacked compared to the top managers who had the power of control. This is the greatest shortcoming in professional conduct of the top leaders in government institutions in Malaysia.

Therefore, while we are eager to give the MACC more prosecution powers which is vital to catch the big fish, a new culture of accountability among leaders, especially cabinet ministers or department heads is crucial.

The culture of resigning from the top post the moment there is evidence of incompetency, negligence or lack of decisiveness should be part of the DNA of Malaysian government leaders whether from Barisan National or Pakatan Rakyat.

We have to break away from the negative culture of face-saving. Decisive action would create a culture of seriousness in governance that would be a noble legacy in moulding future leaders. We see this in other countries; it is time that we see it here.