In Malaysia, rich politicians and their cronies have become obscenely wealthy, while the poor get poorer and are resigned to their fate. The ordinary Malay will say, “Sabar, God has chosen our path”, while the ustaz will say, “God will reward you in the afterlife. Pray harder.”
Millionaire and billionaire politicians claim their children have business acumen and are astute enough to grab every opportunity that comes their way.
Nothing will be said about political connections, insider knowledge, discrimination, and unfair practices. Nor will they mention the pressure placed on individuals involved in the decision-making process to approve an application in the politician’s favour.
If the politician’s son were to fail in his business venture, we won’t be told that taxpayers’ money was used to bail him out.
Around 40 years ago, politicians who did wrong knew...