YOURSAY ‘The people's perception of the fight against corruption by the Umno-dominated government has never been good.'

Plunge in perception of gov't anti-graft efforts

Ferdtan: There is no need for Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) to hold a public survey to find out the people's perception of the government's effectiveness in combating corruption.

We can give you the answer now; it is goinfrom bad to worse. I detect from the way newly-appointed TI-M president Akhbar Satar is presenting the survey report, he was quite reluctant to "call a spade a spade".

He took it upon himself to give excuses to the negative results, like an apologist for those who got poor marks.

When the results showed the people's dissatisfaction with the government's effectiveness in combating corruption, he deduced (his personal opinion or expert's?) it to be due to lack of prosecution of the ‘big fish' in corruption.

He further tried to defend (that is not his business to do so) the damaging impact by saying that "maybe big cases are investigated but not charged" and the implementation of new strategies by the government will take time.

A more telling of the new president's true character is when he refused to comment on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) when queried.

IPCMC is a bane of Umno-BN government and it is a very sensitive issue in light of recent custodial deaths. Akhbar, like a seasoned politician, avoided the question.

It looks like there may yet be another backdoor minister to be appointed by PM Najib Razak, besides TI-M former president Paul Low.

Telestai!: For the lack of a proper word, it is called ‘perception' of corruption. Personally, the better word is not ‘perception' but ‘unprosecuted' corruption.

Can the government explain how a middleman without technical experience in submarines be paid a RM500 million commission ? Can a person with no experience in livestock farming be granted a RM500 million loan with super-low interest rate?

How can a piece of land that cost several ringgit a square foot be converted and sold and resold for several hundreds of ringgit to build a free-trade zone (FTZ) that is poorly conceived?

How can a 20-something fresh college graduate be awarded a multi-million ringgit project to supply air traffic control system?

How can a company with no prior experience in building LRT (Light Rail Transit) systems be awarded the contract at a price higher that the qualified candidate with the lowest price quote and tonnes of experience to boot?

Is it ‘perception' or ‘unprosecuted' corrupt practices?

Swipenter: The people's perception of the fight against corruption by the Umno-dominated government has never been good. It is a case of bad getting worse, not good getting bad.

Hearty Malaysian: It is reality that the Umno-run government has not taken the fight against corruption seriously. Umno is full of money politics which determines who stays in power.

If you raise cows in condominiums using the people's money and yet get away for it, it is no longer a perception.

Wira: In the score for politicians, please separate BN from Pakatan Rakyat. I would think the score for BN is 6.0 to a Pakatan score of 1.2, thereby given us an average figure of 3.8.

Doc: Here's an simple way of trying to grasp how deeply corruption is entrenched in our government.

Just look at all the candidates vying for positions of power in the coming Umno general assembly and those who are currently holding power in Umno. Is anyone of these Umno bigwigs free from corruption allegations?

Heavywater: If the government does not want to act against corruption, then the perception is that the government is guilty.

Look at the submarines, jet fighters, jeeps, tanks, cow condos, massive spending, purchase of indelible ink, award of projects and so many others. So who is corrupt?

Nonbeliever: A corrupt government's aim is to maintain the system. Fighting corruption means they are sending themselves to jail.

2zzzxxx: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is nothing but a showpiece. The most corrupt person in the country even dares to defy it.

Even with one exposé after another about his alleged corrupt practices, he is happily the chief minister of the largest state in the country as if nothing has happened.

Clever Voter: As long as the leadership of the country does not practise the values of integrity, transparency and accountability, problems of corruption and bribery will not go away.

These are symptoms of a rotten government whose behaviour does not commensurate with what they preach to their constituents. Just ask the people on the street is enough to know the rotten state we are in.

Iamleavingbutdecidedtostay: Will BN ever accept this? Yes, they will say they have improved from 2009 by 3 percent and then dust it all under the haze.

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