opinion Malaysia's anti-corruption laws are governed by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and the 1997 Anti-Corruption Act, which is an impressive piece of legislation. The root of the problem is the lack of enforcement, and political interference by the top leaders on its investigations.
Very few political leaders with extraordinary wealth are persecuted; those who are, belong to a group who have fallen out of favour with the powers-that-be. The Anti-Corruption Act has instead become a political weapon.
A famous revelation is the court trial involving former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, when a former head of the ACA was reprimanded for being too effective. Instead of being praised for catching a senior government civil red-handed with unexplained RM100,000 cash in a raid on the latter's office, he was forced to close the case after being lambasted by the prime minister for conducting the raid without his permission. That senior civil servant was subsequently appointed to head Malaysia's Central Bank.
The most rigorous laws in the world are ineffective when there is lack of political will. Corruption exists everywhere and cannot be wiped out, but it can be checked with effective enforcement. Even opposition parties and NGOs are not immune to mismanagement or misuse of funds.
Opposition parties must also do their part to deal sternly with this problem within its ranks. There have been instances where they have committed the same sins which they accuse the government of. While the magnitude of the problem within opposition parties is insignificant, its credibility is at stake if it does not uphold the underlying principles and values that corruption would not be condoned under any circumstances.
Empowering civil society
An empowered civil society and a healthy democracy is probably the most effective weapon against corruption. The obvious problem is that enormous energy and effort is required to mobilise such campaigns.
A germane example is the Malacca state government 2001 budget whose total deficit increased by almost 500 percent from RM50 million last year to RM242 million. This works out to almost RM400 for each of Malacca's 600,000 residents.
With a state GNP of RM4 billion, this deficit is 6 percent of the GNP, exceeding the 5 percent GNP deficit limit. The reason for this sudden rise in deficits is due to huge public works and capital expenditure programme, especially the construction of a RM500 million dam.
Even though the need for additional water supply is crucial, such a massive dam in a small state would threaten the environment, livelihood of residents and finally the long-term sustainability of the rain forests and water resources. Clearly, this was a blatant attempt at justifying a huge capital expenditure by hiding behind the need for water.
Following research, it was disclosed that in the previous Melaka state assembly sitting on Sept 8, 1999, the construction cost was announced as RM161 million, not RM500 million. A public campaign was carried out demanding full transparency and accountability on the RM339 million difference.
When the state government could not explain the quantum leap of 300 percent in only one year from RM161 million to RM500 million, they were forced to call for a public tender. The government tried to claim that the RM339 million increase was caused by additional specifications to the dam.
Upon examining the 16 volumes of tender documents at the public tender office, there were indeed differences, albeit insignificant changes. Under the new tender, the dam's height of 30m is taller by 1.5m from the old tender's dam height of 28.5m or a 5 percent increase. The crest length of the new tender of 1,300m is also longer by 400m compared to the old one of 900m or a 44 percent increase.
Buckled under pressure
Worse, the processing capacity for one of its water treatment plant under the old proposal of 223 million litres per day is four times bigger than the new one of 55 million litres per day. For the cost to go up by 300 percent when the production capacity has gone down by 400 percent is simply ludicrous.
The state government finally buckled under intense public pressure and awarded the tender for the dam at a cost of between RM118 million to RM382 million lower than the original proposed cost of RM500 million! The savings of RM382 million were translated immediately to maintaining water rates at the same levels for the next five years. At a time when almost every state in Malaysia were increasing water rates, Malacca did not do so and yet ensured adequate water resources.
This was one of the few instances of public campaigns undertaken which succeeded in curbing corrupt practices.
No one dares dispute the evil of corruption. But there are some government that still condones its practice as a necessary evil of economic development. Must corruption go hand in hand with economic growth?
South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines and even Malaysia were once examples of this unusual thinking. The fallacy of this argument was cruelly exposed following the 1997 financial crisis which shows how corruption and crony capitalism had short-changed its people. Singapore has again shown how a clean government can best handle any economic crisis.
100 coffins
How then do we restore integrity in politics? In the final analysis, it boils down to political will - a very painful matter to many government, but a necessary one.
There is a famous Chinese proverb that says, "Better a short pain than a long pain". This is basically what battling corruption is all about. The Chinese premier Zhu Rong Zhi probably had this in mind when he said that in the battle against corruption in China, he had prepared 100 coffins - 99 for corrupt officials and the final one for himself.
Enduring a short sharp pain is definitely preferable to a later potentially fatal and excruciating death. But how many are willing to endure such pain, especially when there are no rewards forthcoming. The desire to battle corruption is a matter of political will. Not many government can muster such political will when eliminating corruption may cause its own demise.
Integrity in politics would allow a top-down approach against corruption as shown by the Singapore experience. Otherwise, a bottom-up approach relying on mobilising public support against corruption as exemplified by the South Korean and Taiwan experience. Of great importance is a democratic culture based on rule of law with open public scrutiny and an effective opposition.
It may not be possible to completely eradicate corruption but there must be a culture of fear that those who commit them shall not escape unpunished. There must be protection, not punishment, for whistleblowers. My own experience in the front-line battling corruption has not been marked by gratitude or cooperation from the Anti-Corruption Agency. Instead, I face distrust bordering on hostility.
Even sadder, is the many legal actions or persecutions unleashed on whistleblowers like myself face while those who are corrupt merrily enjoy their ill-gotten gains. How can corruption be fought when it is the whistleblowers, not the corrupt who face punishment?
LIM GUAN ENG was DAP MP for Kota Melaka for three terms before he was disqualified from Parliament following his 18-month imprisonment for publishing "false news" regarding the sexual relationship between a former chief minister and an underaged girl.
