YOURSAY 'You have lost all authority to preach on morality when you have so dismally failed in combating rampant corruption in your government.'

Najib: More to corruption than just gov't abuses

your say P Dev Anand Pillai: Dear Mr PM, your speech writer has crafted your words well and wisely and has made you sound more like a sociologist, asking why we tolerate corruption and why we are corrupt.

But when speaking out like this, have you considered that reform and change must start from a person who is in a position like yours?

If you set the right path, this country will change but we don't see that coming from you. You had the opportunity to present the national budget but instead you turned into an opposition-bashing session and later when you had the chance to rebut the opposition's response to your budget, you failed to turn up.

So if it doesn't start from you, despite the transformations that you are talking about, corruption will remain deeply rooted in the culture of the administration you lead.

Baiyuensheng: PM Najib Razak, you are the leader of Malaysia who has been granted the custodian right and appointed the protector of the people's money.

If you don't set example and set the tone from the top, how would you expect good governance to be effectively permeated down?

It is like saying since the ordinary folks are doing it, don't blame us at the top.

Onyourtoes: "It was vapid self-interest and greed that was truly at the heart of corruption," said Najib.

How wonderful, we know that, PM. That is why society needs honest government with strong institutions to ensure deviant behaviour are contained and punished. That is why society needs regulations to contain unfettered greed and profits.

You don't have to worry about ethical behaviour and moral issues. You just have to concentrate on implementing and enforcing existing laws to investigate, charge and convict those who are corrupt.

Rightly or wrongly, I have an inkling that you are trying to provide excuses or even justify rampant corruption within our midst.

Changeagent: The rot starts at the head, Najib. When the ruling government is seen to engage in endemic corruption for personal enrichment of the elite few and practice patronage politics, it entrenches the perception that corrupt behaviour is prevalent in the moral fabric of the society and should just be tolerated.

The problem we now face is that the rot has already spread and infested the law enforcement agencies such as the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the courts to the point that the crooks can manipulate the system to continue with their corrupt activities unabated.

I'm sorry Najib, but you have lost all authority to preach on morality when you have so dismally failed in your own leadership to combat rampant corruption in your government. Fix your own house first before you comment about matters outside the government.

Absalom: Greed is defined as a ‘strong wish to have more money, things, or power than you need'. Corruption is defined as ‘doing dishonest, illegal, or immoral things in order to gain money or power'.

If you are sincere about doing the right thing (which is doubtful), let's forget about the greed for a while and tackle corruption. And let's go for the big ones first.

Eighty percent of the corruption is probably committed by 20 percent of the biggest culprits, for example, the billionaire CM and the disproportionate wealth of ex-PMs and sons, ministers, the huge commissions on procurement, etc.

If you are not serious about curbing this, stop waffling around about greed and morality, and get on with the GE so someone else can do the clean-up job.

Bartimaeus 2020: Umno and the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) indoctrinated bureaucrats are assiduously promoting the diffusion of Islamic values throughout the whole of the public domain. But what are the results?

Corruption is at an all-time high with public officials behaving as if it is their God-given right to feed at the gravy train.

Swipenter: By sounding clever is not going to get Najib anywhere near to tackling the problem of corruption in our country.

It would be good if Najib stop at trying to intellectualise what is and what is not corruption. Indeed, fighting corruption is not an intellectual exercise.

The pursuit of materialism in itself is not corruption. Neither is it immoral to do so. Greed is a behaviour that is frowned by many, but it is never an act of corruption.

It is the way you acquire your wealth that matters, such as bribery, abusing and misusing powers and positions/office. When corruption becomes an acceptable form of behaviour then it has become a moral hazard and danger to society.

Telestai!: Najib, have you heard of the saying "the buck stops here"? I agree with you that we need to take a holistic approach towards corruption, but where is the best place to start if not your government?

Punish those in public office who are corrupt severely and the private sector will clean up their act. Pushing the buck to the private sector is an easy and lame excuse not to act against those errant officers and leaders in the public sector.

Talk is cheap and we all know you and your predecessors have not acted against the corrupt because they are your warlords.

A4Msia: Najib does not have the moral authority to lecture the rakyat about corruption. Remember "lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu" (you help me, I help you)?

Joker: There is a saying that one should learn to walk before one can run. What the PM is doing is akin to someone who has not yet even learnt to crawl telling others to learn to fly.

AkuBangsaMalaysia: What has Malacca CM Mohd Ali Rustam got to say on this PM's speech on corruption?

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