The NEP: one of the roots of corruption
No, we don’t need more anti-corruption laws. We need an end to licences and permits. And abolishing the NEP would also help to a certain extent. Then we need to execute corrupted Malaysians like what they do in China.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Penang offers RM10,000 reward for info on corruption
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said on June 2 the state government is offering civil servants RM10,000 for providing information on colleagues who commit corrupt practices.
Lim said on the plan take effect immediately.
He said the plan was part of the state government's competency, accountability and transparent philosophy, as it seeks to improve delivery system.
He added that one staff member was the first recipient for exposing such wrongdoing. He added this would also act as a preventive measure. – THE EDGE
THE ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW
By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
1. We need a law against corruption just as we need laws against all crimes. But sometimes the laws are so framed that they promote crime rather than prevent them. Such a law is the Malaysian law on corruption.
2. It seems logical and right that those who receive illegal gratification should be considered guilty of breaking the law and should therefore be punished. But when we talk of corruption we think of those endowed with power abusing their power in order to gain personal benefit. We think that those who offer gratification as being the victim and should be given some consideration.
3. But the law says that those who pay for the service they receive should also be considered as guilty and should be equally deserving of punishment.
4. Since both the giver and the recipient may be charged with corruption, both would be unwilling to report the incident. This of course makes corruption difficult if not impossible to be brought to a court of law and tried successfully.
5. Besides the process of law would be much prolonged, as each would seek lawyers to argue on his behalf. Not only will the trial take ages but the result can be quite unpredictable.
6. But there is another factor. The person reporting would be marked by those sympathetic to the other party so that it would affect his dealings with them as well. If they are Government servants whose approval would be needed, the approvals may not be forthcoming at all later, even if other officers are involved.
7. Because of the ineffectiveness of the laws corrupt people often get away with their corrupt practices.
8. Yet corruption is such a bane on society that it must be stopped somehow. If the law is ineffective then it must be made to be effective. One of the ways is to give immunity to the aggrieved party reporting the case, provided that the evidence was substantial and not perjury.
9. In the case of political corruption both parties may be willing participants. The bribe is given by a candidate to a willing recipient to gain support for himself. Both are therefore unlikely to complain and reveal the act.
10. The recipients on the other hand would be glad to receive the bribe, unless he is a person of high principal unwilling to betray the cause his party was fighting for.
11. In political corruption it would be extremely difficult to get evidence of the bribe being given or received. Electronics now play a role to hide the act. The money is deposited into the account of the person (voter) concerned via the ATM machines. The recipient would be called via phone to ask whether the money had been received, giving the name of the candidate.
12. Despite the difficulties for detection, a Government that is truly determined to prevent corruption can find ways of detecting corruption. But if the Government itself is corrupt then corruption cannot be stopped. In fact corruption would spread in every direction and would become a way of life. At this stage nothing can really be done.
There you have it. One is a statement by the Chief Minister of one of the most economically progressive states in Malaysia and the other is a statement by he who ruled Malaysia for 22 years and dragged us screaming and kicking into the modern world. Nevertheless, they have both missed the mark by a mile. The problem is not that we need more laws or a reward system for stool pigeons. The problem is that we are an overregulated country. And excess regulations breed corruption in a society that froths and foams at the mouth screaming about religion but is steeped in vile.
It never ceases to amaze me when Malays rant and rave like cows suffering from Mad Cow Disease after Friday prayers in demonstrating their support for Islam, and in condemning those they perceive as having insulted Islam, when these are the same people who are corrupted like hell. Give me an atheist who upholds decent values and clean living anytime. I trust these people more that the corrupted religionists. Corrupted religionists are extremely dangerous and the millions of people murdered over thousands of years by religionists hiding behind the name of God is testimony of how dangerous they can be. I sometimes wonder whether religion is really the cause of all our problems and whether mankind is better off without it.
Malaysia needs to deregulate. Malaysians, in particular those Malays who are in government and those who walk in the corridors of power, are just too corrupted and hypocritical to be entrusted with the job of regulating things. Now don’t get me wrong. Chinese and Indians too are extremely corrupt. Just looks at the Port Klang Free Trade Zone fiasco and Samy Vellu as examples. These are totally ‘non-Bumi’ corrupt acts. The only ‘good’ thing is these MCA and MIC slime-balls and scumbags do not go around shouting that the Kafirs are going to hell like the Malays do.
Do you know that 70% of the slot machines (one-arm bandits) are owned by one Chinaman who is a crony of anyone who becomes Prime Minister since the time of Tun Dr Mahathir? Yes, and this man paid Hee RM25 million to bring down the Pakatan Rakyat Perak government.
And do you know how much he pays to operate these slot machines? And we are talking about tens of thousands of slot machines here. First he has to pay the Umno politicians a hefty sum for the licence. Then he has to pay a monthly ‘commission’ to ensure that the licences are not cancelled. Then he has to pay the police a monthly ‘protection fee’ to ensure that the premises where the slot machines are located are not raided and the machines confiscated for ‘breaching the terms and conditions of the licence’.
If you want a gun licence that too can be arranged. All it takes is the right fee to the state Chief Police Officer. The less eligible you are the higher the fees to get the gun licence. If you are an underworld boss then the price can go as high as RM250,000.
If you get arrested then no problem, even for crimes that attract the death penalty. If you are a ‘common’ drug pusher then the fee to escape the death penalty is RM250,000 while if you are a rich tycoon Datuk then it can go as high as RM10 million or more depending on how strong the evidence against you is and whether they also need to make this evidence ‘disappear’.
A Datukship, especially of you are a Chinese underworld boss who needs some ‘respectability’ to your name, starts from RM250,000. Tan Sri is even more expensive while the ‘lesser’ JPs can go for RM50,000 to RM100,000. (I remember a Malay Tan Sri who missed his flight because the Germans paged for a Mr Tan and he did not know they were calling him).
You need licences and permits to do anything in Malaysia. And that is why Malaysia is so corrupted. Eliminate all these licences and permits and corruption would be reduced drastically. Those who make the most money through corrupt means are those who approve these licences and permits and those who are the beneficiaries of these licences and permits. No permit, no corruption. No licence, no corruption.
Of course, in many instances, these licences and permits are imposed to ensure that the aspirations of the New Economic Policy (NEP) are met. You need to be a Bumiputera or meet the conditions of the NEP to qualify for the licence or permit. Most times the Chinaman would just need to go into an Ali Baba arrangement with a corrupted Malay, while another corrupted Malay would approve the licence or permit for an under-the-table fee. Then they all go to the mosque to pray and scream that they will go to heaven while the Kafir are going to hell.
Give me just a day as Prime Minister and I will cut down corruption by at least half. I will just abolish all licence and permit requirements. You want to do business, just set up your stall. You want to open a gambling den, carry on, buy all the slot machines you require, no need licence. Just pay the local council tax and licence fee and you can do whatever you want.
Take the Ah Long problem as another example. Back in the 1970s we in the Malay Chambers of Commerce already told the government about this problem. But the Ah Longs are in partnership with the police so nothing was done about the problem. That’s right, you think the Ah Longs can operate if not for the fact they pay the police protection money?
Now, 30 years later, everyone is screaming. Hey, we screamed 30 years ago. Why only now you scream?
We did a study in a small fishing town called Dungun in Terengganu (YB Rosli Pop, over to you, you know about this). Invariably, this is a Malay town. We found out that almost every Malay petty-trader borrows money from Ah Longs at the sepuluh-empat rate. This means they pay 4% interest a day.
They borrow RM1,000 but will receive only part of that money. The interest is deducted in advance. Yet they are considered having borrowed RM1,000. Then, every day, they have to pay RM40 interest. Every day! The RM1,000 principal, however, remains the same. That never gets reduced. So they pay RM40 a day for the rest of their life while they owe RM1,000 also for the rest of their life.
Why does this happen? Well, these Malay petty-traders can’t get loans from proper banks. Banks need collateral, guarantors, working papers, cash flows, feasibility studies, etc., before they give you a loan. In other words, you need to be rich to borrow money from a bank. Poor people just can’t borrow money. So they go to Ah Longs to borrow money at RM40 interest a day on every RM1,000 they borrow. They don’t need working papers, cash flows and feasibility studies to borrow from Ah Longs and the collateral is their life and that of their family. And the police will help act as debt collectors if you don’t pay your RM40 a day for every RM1,000 borrowed.
No, we don’t need more anti-corruption laws. We need an end to licences and permits. And abolishing the NEP would also help to a certain extent. Then we need to execute corrupted Malaysians like what they do in China. That will not eliminate corruption totally but it would certainly help reduce it drastically. And if Malays can become proper Muslims and not talk-only Muslims, then that may help bring corruption way down. Until then, cakaplah sampai berbueh mulut.
Oh, and Pakatan Rakyat states are not exempted from corruption either. Maybe YB Ronnie Liu can help explain what happened to the state wide WiFi project for Selangor. Selangor started first but it appears like Penang is making better progress. Is this because we have idiots running the Selangor State Government or is there corruption involved here?
And if you don’t reply, Ronnie, I am coming to Pandamaran to chop of your balls and will nail them to the wall.
