'Corruption' is a term that is spat out with venom. We know that it's a bad thing. Yet most of us continue to understand it in kindergarten terms. This doesn't do us any good. If we can't be bothered to gain better perspective of it, we can't do a better job of stamping it out.

One of the nave culprits is the New Straits Times (NST). According to a reprint of its commentary by the International Herald Tribune on Oct 6, the NST asked the question 'do rich countries have low corruption because their people have no need to take bribes, or is it that low corruption engenders faster growth?" The NST argues that a reduction in corruption and growth are mutually reinforcing.

This commentary originated from what the NST calls the 'annual corruption perceptions index' issued by Transparency International (TI) where Malaysia ranked 37th out of 133 countries (first least corrupt, 133rd most corrupt).

Perception is a very tricky thing. It is not fact. But the NST seems to think that it is fact that rich countries tend to have low corruption. This brings me to the NST question that I would like to shoot down immediately.