YOURSAY 'Malaysia is one of the few places in the world where known criminals teach other people ethics and morality.'

MACC and AG to hold graft avoidance course for MPs

Ferdtan: Pemandu director D Ravindran, in announcing that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney-General's Chambers will be holding a course on avoiding corruption for parliamentarians, must be finding hard to keep a straight face.

Otherwise, all present in the press conference would burst out laughing. In his heart, perhaps he must be asking others not to take him too seriously and that he is merely doing his job.

After the bad perception of both MACC and AG - the worst of most governmental departments - the public just have no faith in them. They have no moral ground to instruct and preach to others on corruption.

Ravi, it is better that the country saved the money on such courses. Maybe it is a better idea that the course should be held instead for the MACC and AG officials where it is most needed.

Anonymous #32993250: What course can Pemandu provide - how to steal without being caught?

This people are elected representatives in Parliament, the highest body that legislates law to catch thieves who rob the rakyat's wealth. We should assume that they are the embodiment of morality and righteousness and should be guiding the rakyat. Instead, we need to have a transformation programme to teach them how not to steal.

The MACC and AG should only be sincere in prosecuting all wrongdoers and not resort to political prosecution. If only the MACC and AG could prosecute some high-profile cases and the maximum sentence be meted out, then these urchins will stop robbing the nation's wealth.

We cannot have tainted people holding high office. Indeed, the AG was himself implicated in a refurbishing scandal not too long ago. Yet there is no prosecution.

Telestai!: Asking a member of parliament to attend a course on avoiding corruption is akin to teaching a grandmother to suck eggs. Even regular executives who are exposed to corrupt practices daily know what it means to "do the right thing".

Sure, many of us have professional training on ethical practices but are we saying that our lawmakers don't know how to avoid corruption?

Something is very wrong with this country when a highly paid National Key Results Area (NKRA) director makes such a suggestion.

Abasir: How about starting basic lessons for a prime minister who does not think that offering money for votes is wrong, and that inducing support with 'you help me, I help you' is okay.

TimsTime: The first step is for all MPs to declare their assets. The second step is to declare all their close relatives linked to government projects. The third step is to use an open tender system.

If these step are not taken, don't waste any more time on a graft avoidance course.

Mr KJ John: What is there to learn or teach? Bribery is wrong. Simple, is it not? Work for the public good and avoid seeking personal interests in the name of public interest. Declare gifts given to you or hand them over to the accountant-general. Course done!

Angry_Voter: My daughter instinctively knows what she can take and what she cannot take. Unfortunately she is not an MP. She is only 11.

KPNG: Really, this is the joke of the year. No doubt all good companies, big or small, have some form of code of ethics, go to listen to Robert Kuok interview on CCTV4 , where he said his mother taught him in the early days in Johor the strong value of what is right, what is wrong.

Having said that, it might be useful for Pemandu to wait and see how Malaysians would respond if (or when) Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) re-opens the infamous RM40 million political donation case.

I believe classroom lectures must be supported by real cases, otherwise it's just talk only and wasting the rakyat's money.

AnakBangsaMalaysia: Malaysia is one of the few places in the world where known criminals presume to teach other people ethics and morality.

Speechless: If MPs can't differentiate between corrupt acts and non-corrupt acts, they shouldn't be MPs in the first place. Training is not the solution. Making sure we have MPs of integrity is crucial.

Pissed Off: Corruption is the act of dishonesty done for monetary or personal gain. That being the case, the AG and MACC chief do not qualify to conduct the course. They should be the first ones to take the course.

Bumiasli: I suggest Ravindran goes to some big multinational companies and request for their employees handbook. Photocopy the contents and pass it to all the ministers and government staff. What you all failed to do for so many years has been in practice in the private sector.

And Ravindran, pardon me for asking, could you not get an honest man as a partner. Must you engage a corrupt individual to teach others not to be corrupt? Are questions allowed during the training?

Mahashitla: Is AG Abdul Gani Patail the appropriate man to conduct courses on avoidance of graft to our parliamentarians? Surely there are many capable men and women in the AG's Chambers, senior judges, law professors and even the Bar Council who can conduct such courses.

Gani Patail has many allegations of corruption leveled against him, and he may end up giving a course on "how to wriggle out of a graft charge".

Azlan Ahmad: Sir, Is Pemandu really serious? If it is then there is hope of light at the end of the tunnel like the old adage "It takes a thief to catch a thief"! You got it?

Onyourtoes: What is right to take and what is not right to take - you mean like tax avoidance, pay less legally? So are you going to teach the MPs when and what to take to avoid being caught.

Look, Pemandu, if MPs do not know what to take and what not to take then perhaps they shouldn't be MPs in the first place.

I think even a layperson would know when is corruption and when is not. Since when is training part of the job of MACC and AG? By the way, why are you targeting MPs? How many of these MPs are holding executive power or controlling millions of ringgit?

Pemandu can't even think straight and get your target right. I have long realised that the government is incapable of doing anything substantive, what they can do is to go on talking about or conducting more training.

The Reaper: Isn't this a case of putting the cart before the horse? Why don't the politicians pass a test before they are allowed to stand for elections? It's like hiring a bus driver and then asking him, do you know how to drive?

Sabahan: First question. Is it right to approve prime land in Selangor at RM1 per square foot (psf) to yourself? BN parlimentarians will answer ‘yes'. BN-friendly parliamentarians will also answer ‘yes'. Pakatan Rakyat parlimentarians will answer ‘no'.

MACC and AG will thus advise BN and BN-friendly parliamentarians that the condominiums built on such land should have a kindergarten or community hall and that should make everything okay.

Changeagent: D Ravindran, please remember to add these contents to your course.

Taking RM500 million in commissions for the Scorpene purchases and calling it "coordination services" - wrong.

Awarding the Ampang LRT tender to the least qualified consortium that also provided the highest price quote - wrong.

Selling public land to BN coalition partners at seriously undervalued price of RM1psf for commercial purposes like building condominiums - wrong.

Awarding the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) project to a federal minister's family because they "work hard" - wrong.

Anonymous_4118: What you take is graft... what I take is not.

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