I remember when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah), our fifth PM, first took office, he, too, had begun with a bang. A cabinet minister, a high-profile businessman, a federal officer, a state officer and a local authority officer were almost simultaneously arrested and charged with corruption. His ‘work with him and not for him’ slogan gained traction and he won 90 percent of the seats in 2004 general election.

It was easy for Malaysians to fall heads and shoulders for illusion, posturing and pretension then. But I think not any more. There have been too much hurt and too many broken promises. Now, many Malaysians are cynical, regardless of the measures, genuine or otherwise, being undertaken to tackle corruption in the country.

The recent blitz on three high-profile individuals by the newly minted Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief seemed to suggest the same strategy being used as in the past - ie to give an impression that there are serious attempts to wipe out corruption in the public service. However, a cursory reading of commentaries on the arrests seemed to indicate otherwise. Most Malaysians are sceptical that something profound has indeed happened out of the actions taken.

Why do we need a new MACC chief to recognise that corruption is in fact happening in our midst? Surely all these cases did not happen overnight. Surely all the bosses and supervisors can’t be in total oblivion to what is going on under their noses.

So my question is why the sudden spur into action to coincide with the appointment of the new MACC chief? Was the old MACC chief useless and ineffective or did allegations of corruption just happen one week ago?

Fighting against corruption must be status-blind, persistent, tenacious, and relentless. We do not need to wait for a new PM or a new MACC chief. That would be just a flash in the pan - an illusion, a diversion and an impression created to show something is being done when actually nothing much has been done.

No doubt, we need work and evidence to prove corruption. At the same time, there is a ‘landscape of corruption’ which could be quite easily discerned if we are observant enough. Haphazard developments, obscene wealth, opulent living, poor public service, extreme poverty and marginalisation are all potential indicators of corruption. We just need people with authority to investigate and prove it.