LETTER | Corruption: Who is to blame, the actors or system?

LETTER | Yesterday, the caretaker Kedah menteri besar accused the non-Muslims of being the most involved in corruption.

Bribery is aptly described by Baha’i leader, Abdul Baha: "How foolish and ignorant must a man be, how base his nature, and how vile the clay of which he is fashioned, if he would defile himself with the contamination of bribery, corruption and perfidy towards the state!

“Truly, the vermin of the earth are to be preferred to such people!"

If this is how we look at giving or taking bribes and those involved in it, who are worse than “vermin of the earth”, then it does not matter whether he is a Muslim or non-Muslim, both are evil.

There are no statistical data available to prove Kedah menteri besar’s claims as most of these acts go unreported, while only a few are caught and charged.

So the question of how many Muslim or non-Muslims are involved in this act is subjective. Nevertheless, we must reject corruption in the strongest term on all accounts, instead of accusing one group of being the giver and the other, the taker.

A bribe is a bribe, whether the person is giving or taking. Blaming the “giver” over the “taker” seems to suggest that the “giver” created the “taker”, thus one is an angel and the other, the devil.

As Muslims make up the majority in the civil service, it seems to suggest that the “taker” are Muslims and non-Muslims are the “giver”.

In any case, let’s stop the blame game. Both “giver” and “taker” are scums of society, equally responsible for the crime who are laughing away after beating the fragile system and processes - which are not transparent.

Of course, there is this argument that the receiver wants the bribe for the work to be approved or done, so the “giver” is not to be blamed. Another argument is that the “giver” tempts the “taker” to expedite processes.

Opaque system breeds graft

If proper systems and processes are in place at all levels, these people will not have a platform to commit such crimes. The absence of a transparent system and processes is the cause of corruption.

Hence, those who create such a system must share the blame too. While we cannot eradicate graft completely, we can come up with processes to minimise it.

As long as Malaysians don’t compartmentalise such crimes under racial categories and glorify one criminal as opposed to the other, we can still correct the system – which has become a “playground” for the corrupt.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.