YOURSAY | ‘It takes a lot of guts to risk everything by exposing the corrupt.’

No immediate protection for bribe giver: PM on whistleblower case

Anon25: Usually, you cannot catch and prosecute corrupt politicians without a whistleblower.

When politicians become greedy and demand more and more from the supplier or contractor, these suppliers and contractors become the whistleblowers.

That seems to be the case here. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should tell MACC to give the whistleblower witness protection.

Business people are afraid to report corrupt politicians because politicians tend to gang up and virtually ostracise them.

Even without any arrest and trial, the public already knows who the guilty ones are. Anwar should not protect corrupt politicians.

Vijay47: We would have expected that when reporters interviewed the prime minister, their principal line of questions would be focused on the main news - the latest reports and rumours on alleged corruption within the Sabah government.

Something along the lines of “Sir, what do you have to say about the rampant talk regarding purported bribes in Sabah?”

“Does the government have fresh undisclosed leads on the matter?”

Instead, the attention seems to be on the secondary issue – the whistleblower and the possible protection that may be accorded to him.

In the same spirit, the prime minister spoke only about the whistleblower.

He handled any reference to the actual lead crime almost only as an aside in the final line.

Of course, it is equally possible that these days, corruption is hardly earth-shattering.

Anonymous_3f4b: Anwar is talking rubbish. Who else will have personal first-hand direct knowledge of corruption save for the giver and receiver?

Other third-party reports and information are not direct evidence and the culprits can deny it.

The informant, whether giver or receiver, must be accorded immunity if they are daring enough to expose graft.

A similar situation arises when an undercover agent offers a bribe in a sting operation to nab corrupt receivers.

The prime minister’s logic does not make the agent and his modus operandi illegal and evidence cannot be adduced.

BlackPuma1084: A rather shocking response from a prime minister who claims to fight corruption.

Either he does not understand that whistleblowers are in the thick of the action of corrupt dealing for whatever reason or he wants to protect the corrupt.

The key is to catch corrupt public service employees so that they fear getting kickbacks in the first place.

As long as the whistleblower is not protected, we can only dream of winning the corruption war in this country.

HJ Angus: We could face a major test to combat corruption in Malaysia based on how the prime minister handles the matter. He could do the following:

1. Try to do damage control, so the state government does not collapse and, by a domino effect, cause the government to fall, triggering a general election.

2. Let MACC apply the laws without fear or favour.

3. Use the videos to bolster his image and consult with the Agong that this is a good opportunity to boost his tarnished image as his government has too many corrupt members.

Many moderates can understand his plight and the exposures are the single most significant event to do a proper reset on corruption in Malaysia.

Vent: Clearly, the “whistleblower” is no angel. That said, his complicity in the greasy deals has now been seized by Anwar to deny him immediate protection.

It seems fair enough at face value. This is an attempt to thwart further damning disclosure that will appear to implicate the most senior leader in Sabah.

When that happens, the government may come tumbling down like a load of 10 pins. Will Anwar allow that to happen when he has just reimagined himself as a world leader, let alone the “Father of Malaysia”?

Thickskin: Anwar’s attitude towards the whistleblower is the best way to maintain and encourage corruption in the civil service and politicians.

In other countries, to break the vicious corruption of “untouchables”, crown witnesses are given protection. But here in Malaysia, they are singled out for prosecution.

There is no real effort to root out corruption to this day. This is probably because it is too embedded.

Unless KotaKinabalu: You would think that the Madani government would jump at the chance to land a “big fish”.

If it were their rivals implicated, they would probably be dying to get the video evidence against them at all costs.

YellowCat1156: Both the bribe giver and the receiver must be held accountable. But the allegations and evidence should be top of the list of investigations.

The fact that the Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor had reportedly said the bribe giver should be investigated first and Anwar, more or less, said the same point speaks volumes about the evidence.

VioletHarimau9904: I understand that giving a bribe is wrong. But giving bribes is the only way to expose these corrupt officials.

Can the prime minister please reconsider what he said?

Look into the bribe giver's intention. It took a lot of guts to risk everything by exposing these people. Don't practise double standards.

Time to clean this corrupted state. The people of Sabah are suffering because of them.

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