YOURSAY | No serious will to eradicate corruption

YOURSAY | Bankruptcy not a deterrent, many still live the good life.

COMMENT | Who cares about bankruptcy when millions are hidden?

RR: Malaysiakini columnist R Nadeswaran has aptly highlighted the corruption and bankruptcy factors in the civil service, government-linked companies and the private sector.

However, we must also note that many God-fearing civil servants do an honest job for the salary they earn.

Our country is in this sad state because there has been no serious political will for decades to eradicate corruption in the country.

Courts declaring a person bankrupt is one aspect, but recovering corrupt “riches” from the culprits for government and government-related institutions is most vital.

The MACC should henceforth seriously and strictly enforce the law to avoid the country going bankrupt.

Apa Harapan: Corruption has become a way of life because it is so pervasive, especially among politicians.

The MACC should be staffed by highly paid, competent staff regardless of ethnicity, not political appointees at the top who talk a lot but seem to have little success in combating high-level corruption.

There is no political will to pass a law that deems public figures who live beyond their means to be corrupt unless proven otherwise.

Hong Kong managed to wipe out large-scale corruption under such a law. How about doing the same in Malaysia?

Will there be too many who will be arrested?

Vijay47: Bankruptcy is about as effective or punitive as that other panacea to financial misdeed or offence, “the blacklisting of a company”.

The truth is, nobody cares a hoot. In fact, many wear the bankruptcy label as a badge of arrival at success.

Blacklisting? Just incorporate a new company.

I remember as a little boy a million years ago what a simple handshake symbolised.

The only assurance my father gave or received was a simple handshake, for action to be done, the sale of a second-hand car, the renting of a house.

That handshake was sacrosanct, a gesture from an honourable man. Agreements were not at all necessary.

These days, some lawyers specialise in challenging signed agreements and contracts.

To return to this topic, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki, why are you delving into making people bankrupt?

You are entrusted to investigate and charge those participating in the latest lucrative profession, corruption. Please stick to your day job.

We would be glad if you focused also on retrieving all the looted 1MDB and other billions. Thank you very much.

Apanama is back: Yes Azam, don’t make a joke out of this issue.

The seriousness of the matter demands your full attention and commitment.

Do your job diligently and show us tangible results. As the saying goes, “Talk is easy and cheap."

A Better Msia: Nadeswaran, the bravado talk suits the government too, which must not be serious about fighting corruption but wants the right image and messaging.

Azam must be doing a great job, as his MACC chief contract has only recently been extended by the government.

Anticonmen: Fighting corruption but the perpetrators who installed “favoured contracts” and “negotiated contracts” are laughing all the way to the bank.

How do you fight corruption when financial controls are removed?

Headhunter: Even bankrupt individuals can still enjoy a life of luxury by keeping their stolen assets such as gold bars, diamonds, and cash safely stashed away in bank vaults or secret hiding places.

It's naive to think that millions or even billions of dollars, as in the case of Port Klang Authority (PKA) and 1MDB, stolen and unrecovered, just disappear into thin air.

Other countries are better at recovering our stolen money than our authorities.

Individuals charged with stealing hundreds of millions are still walking the corridors of power or attempting to make a comeback.

We can't deny that corruption is deeply rooted in Malaysia and exists in high places.

KK Voter: Bankruptcy is not a deterrent. I know many bankrupt business owners who bankrupted themselves to avoid paying their debtors.

Almost everyone knows someone like that. These “bankrupt” people are still living the good life.

V S: Indeed, there is no shame at all in being branded corrupt in Malaysia because it is the norm. It has become a way of life to outsmart and get rich in any way possible.

Basic human values like honesty and integrity are things that are now outdated.

Coward: The solution, used everywhere in the developed world, is to assume all income is illegal and place the onus of proof that the money is acquired legally on the person with the money.

This law was created to deal with drug traffickers' unlawful profits and has since been extended to cover all means of income as it is proven deterrence against money laundering, bribery and illegal proceeds.

If you recall, one of our top-ranking police officers fell afoul of this law and lost millions in Australia because he could not prove that the money he had was obtained through legal means.

The beauty of this law is it does not matter how you hide your assets, or who you hide it with.

As soon as you take it out it is confiscated. But will it ever be enacted?

Of course not, because those who can enact it are worried about how it will affect them.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.