LETTER | For a long time, we have been battling corruption in the country. Corruption is seen as the stumbling block to a greater nationhood.
Going by the countless cases that are being investigated or pending in a never-ending court process or new cases popping up di sana sini (here and there), it appears that we are not gaining ground in our battle against this cancer that has spread far and deep into our society.
Perhaps it is time to drop the label “corruption” and plainly call it “greed” instead.
Greed for power, greed for money, greed for unaccounted wealth - greed indeed is the root cause fueling corruption in the country.
Greed has weakened our national economic and social resilience. Greed has punctured deep holes into our political roadmaps. Greed has destroyed our education system. Greed has even deprived vast populations of a healthy, vibrant, stress-free lifestyle.
In fact, greed is the main cause for the social decadence we see on our roads, in cities and townships; and it is this greed that is fueling societal intolerance; and planting extremism and intolerance far and wide across our nation.
We have reached rock bottom as we even remain undeterred in our exploiting of the 3R’s - race, religion and rulers, all born out of greed.
It is time to aggressively promote an abhorrence towards greed in any form.
We need to carve a culture that not only frowns on greed but names and shames greed in its myriad forms that we see all too often in our country.
Unless and until we have what it takes to expose greed, our war on corruption will remain merely a superficial dressing of a wound that has already taken root so deep in the Malaysian psyche.
It calls for a government will not just making promises. It needs the unrelenting voice of a vociferous media that keeps exposing all forms of greed among Malaysians. It cannot be wrapped in make-believe religiosity or in wanting to be politically correct.
We need to tackle greed to win this war on corruption.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
