Didn't recent high-profile cases thrust public attention back to the earlier allegation by a PAS leader that non-Muslims and non-Bumis were the root cause of corruption in this country?
Thursday, 27 August 2026, may be hailed by some as a historic day, as the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex witnessed the rare simultaneous appearance of three former prime ministers attending separate court hearings.
For the record, the unprecedented occasion brought together Najib Razak, Muhyiddin Yassin, and Ismail Sabri Yaakob at the same court premises, although their respective cases were unrelated.
Najib was there for his ongoing US$5.64 billion civil suit filed against him by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) at the High Court where he is accused of breach of trust, breach of statutory duty, abuse of power, and conspiracy for misappropriating the fund's assets.
Muhyiddin's attendance there was for his ongoing corruption trial linked to the Jana Wibawa programme. He is facing seven charges, specifically four counts of alleged power abuse to obtain RM225.3 million in bribes for his party, Bersatu, as well as three counts of alleged money laundering involving money that Bersatu received from Bukhary Equity.
Meanwhile Ismail Sabri was there to face a charge over his alleged failure to declare his assets as required by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). This followed earlier reports that the anti-graft agency had seized cash totalling RM170 million in various foreign currencies in addition to confiscating 16 kilograms of pure gold bars estimated to be worth RM7 million during earlier investigations.
(It must be emphasized here that all three individuals remain innocent until proven guilty in a court of law—regardless of the eye-watering sums involved.)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?
Now, if you had earlier told anyone that three ex-PMs of the country would one day emerge at the same court complex on the same day for corruption-linked cases, you would have been ridiculed for suggesting something out of a star-studded Hollywood movie.
But the question here is: with all three of them coming from Malay-Muslim-based parties, namely UMNO and Bersatu, what impression did it leave on the public?
Well, PAS supremo Hadi Awang did reportedly claim that, unlike others, Muslims are less likely to be involved in corruption because they are guided by their faith, making it a sin before Allah.
And did the Islamist party head also not blame non-Muslims and non-Bumis as a major cause of corruption in this country?
So if it has been proven now that race and religion have little to do with corruption, what then are the real root causes?
For sure, human nature is one of them, but is “patronage politics” to be blamed too?
In established democracies, high-level corruption is considered a major threat to the state. Hence, there are laws to restrict the powers of government leaders, underpinned by institutional safeguards and asset declarations, among others.
But does Malaysia seriously treat this scourge as a national threat? Or do leaders here tend to be selective and merely address the symptoms but not the underlying causes, for fear of reprisals?
Isn't the obnoxious “rezeki” culture still tolerated by some segments of society?
Additionally, it would appear that in this country, there is a tendency to turn a blind eye to "money politics"—without which party political machineries get stalled, grassroots support evaporates, and elections may end up being lost.
In short, it has become a lifeblood for certain political parties—so deeply entrenched that it is allegedly practiced even in their internal polls!
Najib may have been right; cash is king.
Is that why when it comes to corruption they never go around screaming haram (sin) the way they do over gambling, beer consumption, wearing shorts, and even flying the national flag upside down?
And what about the elusive political funding law?
The absence of this crucial law will no doubt make it easier to bribe those in power. Indeed, without strict laws governing how political parties raise and spend funds, the line between a donation and a bribe inevitably becomes blurred.
Naturally, without transparency and accountability, it becomes easier to solicit and accept bribes as it won't be that easy to prove in court.
A country's flawed political system where the executive enjoys excessive powers may be another reason why corruption cases continue unabated.
Imagine, a political leader having a decisive say in the selection of the country's Attorney General (AG), the Chief Commissioner of its Anti-Corruption Commission, and even its Chief Justice!
PMX may be making an effort to put things right, but it's hard to foresee other national leaders possessing the political will to address these highly sensitive issues. Why shoot yourself in the foot, right?"
So, have we become a nation of “political hypocrites” then?
The thing is, integrity isn't exactly a high-demand commodity among politicians here, where self-preservation appears to take precedence over everything else.
Can we then expect future governments, especially with the likes of BN or PN-PAS, to change it?
Still, the sight of three powerful former national leaders in the dock—and on the same day at that—proves that politicians are not “untouchable” after all.
Then again, could we be speaking too soon?
What if a snap general election is called and federal power changes hands?
The truth is, for Malaysia to be free of this curse, there must be serious structural reforms—because corruption hurts the country, its people, and its future.
But will those holding the levers of power, be it at federal or state level, truly care?
Perhaps this is why certain political leaders allegedly distract the rakyat by playing the racial blame game, despite knowing that corruption is driven by human nature, not race or religion.
After all, is it not easier to blame certain ethnic groups for corruption than to come up with complex laws that tackle the problem of human greed head-on?
In conclusion, high-profile cases currently playing out in the courts prove beyond a doubt that corruption is a human malaise that transcends ethnicity and religion. As for those who unfairly place the blame for that on other races—simply for political mileage—shouldn't they be ashamed, now that their hypocrisy has been exposed?
Main information source: Malay Mail, Vibes, Malay Mail and NST.
JK Joseph (jtkingsworld@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
