PETALING JAYA: Malaysia must be consistent in applying its anti-corruption laws and become a shining example of it so that no one is deceived into believing that those involved in graft can get away with it.
This is the right thing to do in light of our 65th Merdeka and the dawn of a new Malaysia, exemplified in the jailing of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak(pix). It set a positive precedent and the way forward in the nation’s anti-corruption stand.
Prominent social activist and former Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, said: “Nobody should be jailed in vain. We must strike the iron while it is hot. And this is an opportunity we do not want to lose.
“Act against those who have been robbing the country’s coffers. In the past, we saw only the small fish being incarcerated, but now we have seen action taken against a big fish too.
“We must be consistent in applying the law. A high-powered committee should go to work and make this happen. Let us have a national campaign against corruption as our 65th Merdeka resolution,” Ramon said.
The extensive level of corruption in the country, he said, is due to the lack of political will in containing it. He said there has been more rhetoric from political leaders and less action in countering graft to the extent it has compromised the economic well-being of the country.
Ramon said the government should also be fair to every Malaysian as discrimination also breeds corruption and other crimes.
“When the government is selective in extending privileges, people will react for their survival and justify committing graft and other crimes. Aid must go to the needy or else we are creating an environment for morality to be compromised and corruption to manifest.
“As for the well-to-do who choose to be involved in corruption, they have no excuse as it’s merely their greed,” said the former secretary-general of the Treasury.
Ramon urged the authorities to include anti-corruption education in school syllabi and religious sermons. The government, he said, should also encourage religious leaders to regularly preach on the evils of corruption, apart from enforcing heavier penalties for graft offenders, similar to those caught for serious crimes such as murder, kidnapping and drug trafficking.
“It is a crime worse than any other serious crime. Corruption can bring a whole country down and leave people starving. Short jail sentences might not be effective.
“An offender of graft, on being freed from jail, can return to enjoy the funds he stole. Perhaps, stiffer penalties such as life imprisonment and increased whipping are the answer,” he said.