To parody a line from the Roberta Flack song Killing me softly with his song , Malaysian politicians, civil servants and those in authority are killing this country softly with their corruption.

Platitudes and promises aside, it is no joke that the level of systemic corruption in our country has gone from bad to worse. Leaders can choose to ignore it and close an eye, but the truth is everywhere we turn we see the destructive traces of corruption.

Services and infrastructure are breaking down and left unattended, buses and trucks are spewing out excessive exhaust smoke and the haze is now here every year. Road accidents are up due to unqualified drivers and vehicles being let onto the roads in a less-than-roadworthy condition.

How is all this due to corruption? When tenders are bypassed. When a phone call is made to influence a decision. When 'under-the-table' money is passed to decision makers. When the most proficient and efficient contractor is sidestepped for the one with better 'offerings'.

This is how we get hospitals with fungus , flyovers deemed unsafe , roads not made to specifications, parks turned into housing developments and trees felled without permission . This is why we have increasing health costs , highway concessionaires that lose toll collections and disappearing green lungs. All because of corruption.

The prime minister's National Integrity Plan which was a breath of fresh air is now a mere mirage. Integrity is what you are when no one is looking. Malaysians need to know the effects of what they do.

China was mired in local municipal corruption. But in the last year, the government there has cracked down and I even heard that a local mayor near Shanghai was shot by firing squad for taking government funds. Things are a-changing there and all of sudden there is law and order.

There is still a long way to go for China but the important thing is there is now a crackdown and an intolerance for corruption. Maybe we in Malaysia won't shoot our corrupt leaders and civil servants but let's do the minimum by exposing them and weeding them out of their positions.

Enough of mere talk.