National Anti-Corruption Plan - What Are Our Roles?

The Prime Minister recently launched the National Anti-Corruption Plan which intends to break the corruption chain and to get Malaysia to be known for its integrity, not otherwise. This should be seen as the continuation of anti-corruption journey which could be traced to the National Integrity Plan which was formulated in 2004.

The present state of corruption should not make Malaysians proud. 63.3% complaints against corruption involve the public sector and Malaysia's position in the Corruption Perception Index had always been on the lower side for the many years until now.

The National Anti-Corruption Plan envisages a corrupt-free nation predicated on the improvements of government efficiency, transparency and accountability, based on good governance. This will create a clean business environment and efficient and responsive public service delivery. For this to happen, public procurement, legal and judicial systems and law enforcement have to be effective.

There would be 6 strategies which would be rolled in 22 initiatives over the next 4 years.

What would be our roles in ensuring the goals of the plan in addressing corruption in Malaysia to be achieved? I am convinced many would be playing the spectators role, doing nothing and will be commenting a lot from the side. Well, that is very much the fact of life in many countries anyway.

I trust the would be Malaysians who would be doing their level best to contribute. Given the scope of the plan, there would be plenty of opportunities for us to be involved, both in the public and private sectors. Strengthening governance should not be seen as a private sector affairs. In fact, why we are where we are is very much due to the failures in public governance.

One other aspect that is important is for the Malay/Muslim communities to view this as part of the objectives of Shariah. Corruption results in the abuse of public funds. One of the objectives of Shariah (maqasid) is the protection of assets/wealth. Hence, ensuring national wealth to be administered effectively and distributed justly falls within this Shariah objective.

In the larger picture, all Malaysians have the responsibilities to build this country to one which benefits everyone. Opportunities should be shared predominantly on merit with government intervention with the sole objective to address inequality, if any sign appears. The rule of law should prevail, based on the constitution of this country. Then only, Malaysians will have the confidence to compete in fair and objective manners, for the benefit of the society at large.