Tunku Aziz: Life goes on after politics
“While involved in a political party, I was never a politician. I was an anti-corruption activist. I was, at that time, promised a platform to pursue my ideologies. I saw it as an opportunity to carry out my main interest which is to fight corruption and promote integrity.”
D. Kanykumarai, The Star
A life in politics – filled with controversy, drama, and the constant stress of being under limelight. That’s what Tunku Aziz walked away from.
After entering the arena at a ripe old age, the former DAP national Vice Chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, 79 can look back with some amusement on his days as a politician.
Born in 1934, Tunku worked as a financial advisor in Malaysia after his education in the United Kingdom.
In order to fight corruption, Tunku Aziz helped found Transparency International-Malaysia (TI) in 1998. In March that year, he was elected vice chairman of TI’s Board of Directors, a position he held until October 2002. He has also served as special advisor to then United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York.
However he really grabbed the headlines with a high profile entry and exit into the political scene.
In an interview with the Star Online, Tunku Aziz recalls his heady days as a politician.
“While involved in a political party, I was never a politician. I was an anti-corruption activist. I was, at that time, promised a platform to pursue my ideologies. I saw it as an opportunity to carry out my main interest which is to fight corruption and promote integrity,” he says.
“Basically, I joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP) because no other political party seemed to be serious about fighting corruption at that time and that was important because it was the basis with which I entered politics.”
“Leaving politics, has not in any way changed my passion which is ultimately to achieve a corruption-free country. That is the fight,my ambition. It is not something that can be eradicated but I am working to at least reduce it by continuing my involvement in international NGO’s such as the CAUX round table which is a US based forum made up of senior business executives. I am also the Director of the International Institute of Public Ethics.”
After gaining and losing popularity with equal speed, Tunku Aziz says he really doesn’t miss much about the political game.
“To be honest, there is nothing at all I miss. Truthfully, I enjoy being out of politics as I can be more detached in terms of views. In my case I really had no need to be involved much with the people as I was not fishing for votes. I had only joined DAP in 2008, which was when I was well over 70 years of age.”
“If I had gotten into politics to gain political mileage, then I would have joined UMNO or Barisan Nasional. Even now I have people telling me that I now support BN, but the fact of the matter is that I appreciate the transformation initiatives made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. He strives to unite rather than divide and looks at giving equal opportunities to everyone. However, I am still waiting to see if he walks the talk.”
Still he does feel some frustration over his time in DAP.
“Although I studied political science, I had no interest in becoming a practitioner of politics. I was very naive and thought politics could be better in our nation. I believed we could see a more open and transparent politics driven by integrity and honesty. DAP was a multi-racial and multi-ethnic party which claimed not to tolerate corruption. It was not what it claimed to be and soon enough i learned that it happens in all political parties.”
“I just wish I was able to have improved national integrity and bring down corruption as it is the single most damaging aspect of governance which presently holds Malaysia back. Not only BN but even the opposition is corrupted.”
“I would personally define corruption as the abuse of power and people need to understand that bribery and corruption are two different things. Corruption is when the authorities misuse the power they have been entrusted with. Unfortunately, this practice is largely tolerated in our community.”
Does he have any advice for present and future politicians?
“They should hold faithfully to the oath of office that they have taken. This would certainly help in making politics an honourable profession. Right now,as we are all aware , politicians are regarded as a bit of a joke. No one respects politicians as a breed and they are regarded as liars, cheaters. With such an image, it is not likely to attract the best people.”
“There are many who follow a political party based on social influence. People, especially young people need to understand that they are already playing an important role in mapping out the destiny of the nation. These youngsters can only do so if they understand the history of our nation. Supporters should become more knowledgeable so that their decisions will be informed decisions. If they really would want to bring about change for the country, they must become more knowledgeable and rational and make up their own minds. For all its many faults, Malaysia is not dysfunctional. However, it could be better.”
