Source: Transparency International [Note: 1 = least corrupt]
Can and should Malaysia learn from Singapore on how to reduce corruption?
Singapore (together with Denmark and New Zealand) , in 2010, was ranked least corrupt nation in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.
There are many reasons why the Barisan Nasional (BN) government should seek Singapore’s assistance:
- Both are classified as semi-democracies;
- Both have had a single party or coalition leading it since independence;
- Both have had long serving leaders who are often described as authoritarian;
- Both have a shared history, shared border, shared cultural and social ties;
- There are many Malaysians in Singapore. Approximately 10% of Singapore’s labour force are from Malaysia. This does not include Malaysians who have become citizens of Singapore;
- Both have significant government intervention in the economy through the Government Linked Corporations (GLCs).
More importantly, Malaysia’s efforts have obviously failed despite Malaysia having all the necessary laws and enforcement agencies to prevent corruption.
Furthermore, stamping out corruption has been an important feature of the pious BN government. Mr. Mahathir Mohamed introduced Bersih, Cekap, Amanah (Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy) as his administration’s motto. Morality and ethics also featured prominently in Mahathir’s Vision 2020 , Malaysia’s long term objective, with one of the nine challenges dedicated to achieving this.
“The fourth is the challenge of establishing a fully moral and ethical society, whose citizens are strong in religious and spiritual values and imbued with the highest of ethical standards.”
Mr. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi launched the National Intgrity Plan and the National Integrity institute among many policies to reduce corruption.
Mr. Najib Razak has followed suit. To his credit, Mr. Najib has formally recognised the scourge of rent seeking culture, institutional leakages and institutional degradation. He has ambitiously stated in his New Economic Model and his Government Transformation Plan that there will be zero tolerance for corruption, in his administration.
The results to date however does not augur well for Mr. Najib. The perception created thus far is that corruption under the Najib administration is at its peak in Malaysia. The continued abuse of government procurement, the scandal plagued Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Project, the 1Malaysia e-mail and Mr. Najib’s use of tax payer’s money for his personal agenda are just some of the more high profile examples. And we have yet to even discuss Malaysia’s First Lady’s (no, not the Queen) penchant for fame and all things expensive.
Mr. Najib Razak would be wise to consult Mr. Lee Hsien Loong on how the People’s Action Party manages to reduce corruption while staying in power for so long.
[Note: The methodology to calculate the TI - CPI is available here. In summary the CPI is calculated based on 13 major surveys. ]
I don’t think that we should make a comparison between Malaysia and Singapore so quickly. For all the reasons why Malaysia should consult Singapore, there are reasons why it shouldn’t, reasons why it won’t, and reasons why there isn’t a point. Singapore is an island city state with a separate ethn0-nationalist project controlled by a single-party government may be sufficiently different for Malaysia which is a federation of geographically diverse negeri’s with exploitable natural resources (both a blessing and a curse), and ruled by a compromise between a coalition of partners parties. This is also an extremely optimistic view of Singapore: there are problems here in Singapore as well, and does not take into account the steps taken by Singapore and whether or not they would work in Malaysia.
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Thanks for sharing your view rockjianrock.
If I understand you correctly, your suggesting that:
(1) Malaysia should not & cannot follow Singapore (for several reasons you stated)
(2) Singapore itself has lots of corruption (but is hidden).
Jon S.T. Quah writes that:
Do you agree with the above statement?
The same cannot be said of Malaysia. Corruption is a way of life. Most Malaysians have participated in corruption (from bribing a cop not to give a ticket for illegal parking or speeding, to paying bribes to get projects, etc). Do you agree with this assessment?
Would you have any suggestion on how Malaysia can reduce corruption within the constraints you have suggested.
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Well according to Wikileaks things are very much different to what is being openly admitted to by both Singapore and Malaysia. Gossip, conjecture, analysis, allegations of political chicanery, corruption – they’re all in the latest downloads….The latest flock of US diplomatic cables made available by the WikiLeaks Web site is setting off firecrackers all over Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. A total of 251,000 cables were released by WikiLeaks from diplomatic missions across the world last week, this time with no names removed to hide the identities of the confidential sources used by US embassies. The cables can be found at http://www.wikileaks.org.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/64180/wikileaks-asian-field-day/
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I have worked in SG for many years so I am familiar with Lion City.
1. As TI index indicates there is a vast gulf between MY and SG in terms of corruption. This is indeed true and something that I can accept based on my own experience.
2. However the level of corruption is under-reported in Singapore due to the tight media control and the usage of other subtler means to achieve the same aims. The kind of control that SG govt exerts on the media is unparalleled. Even the online media is relatively tame though they have been gaining strength recently. In most cases the govt critics do not have information on govt affairs as most of it is strictly controlled and distributed.
- For example the way government projects are awarded and outsourced are often shrouded in secrecy. Often these contracts are given to PAP supporters. No doubt they have the open tender system but the fact is not all projects are given out through this system or really “open”.
- Many (or even most) of the GLCs are headed PAP loyalists/cronies. The financial results of GLC are not reported. For example the head of Temasek is the PM’s wife. PAP has a system where they identify suitable candidates for the party even at the undergrad level to be groomed to be future leaders. In Singapore there is absolutely no difference between PAP and the government. You might make the same accusations about BN and MY govt, but the scale in Singapore is on another level.
3. I think there are things that Malaysia can certainly learn from Singapore and some of these lessons certainly can be applied without much modifications. One, is the pay for government servants. The high pay certainly deters corruption at the same time attracts the best talents. The other is the strong political will to stamp out corruption that started with LKY.
4. However while we share many similarities, there are significant differences. Some of these already covered by rockjianrock so I cover other points.
- PAP has total control and even within the party the PM has absolute power. As such, there is less need for PAP to practice patronage politics other than at higher levels. This is the same as with countries such as Korea, Taiwan and even Japan.
- Singapore is a republic so the central govt has full control on all aspects of the administration of the country. In MY much of the corruption is at the local govt level where the little Napoleans under the state and local govts run wild.
- Singapore do not need policies like the NEP due to its social economic situation and demographics. In MY the NEP has been a major source for corruption since it can easily be abused.
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To add to the last point of “Killer” – In Malaysia, a lot of rules are vague and leaves too much to the discretion of the “officers” and “Pengarahs” This is a surefire recipe for corruption. There is also very little consequence for wrong doings – mainly due to the NEP / ketuanan policy
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To those that have identified why Malaysia cannot follow Singapore in combating corruption, can you provide suggestions on how the Malaysia government can actually do something to combat corruption?
Is there something that Malaysians can do too?
OR should Malaysians just accept their predicament, that they are indeed a corrupt society and make the best out of it, as some Malaysians still do?
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The one and only thing that Malaysians who do not agree to this state of affairs can do is to exercise their vote. Vote for a change and see what happens.
There nothing that can motivates a worker more than the fear of loosing his / her job. There’s nothing that motivates a politician more than the fear of losing his / her seat.
Show the current or the next govt that they can loose, and I am sure things will improve in Malaysia
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Thanks Neptunian for that suggestion. Yes, I think Malaysians should have a zero tolerance policy on corruption.
Transparency International – Malaysia (TI-M) has called for reforms in political financing as a way to curb corruption. Malaysians perceive political parties as most corrupt.
This is definitely something that Mr. Najib Razak can easily implement if wants too. Will he?
A more detailed presentation of Malaysia’s CPI ranking for 2010 is available here and here.
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Would have answered earlier, but work came in the way.
I think it’s good to dis-aggregate corruption. I agree with Killer that civil servants pay is a key component of a preventive measure against corruption. However, Malaysia has one of the most bloated civil services comparative to other countries, and the Public Service Department from what I know, still controls hiring and firing of civil servants. Which means that increasing civil servants pay is not going to happen in the short to medium term because of the giant cost it will exact on government finances. The immediately solution would be to sack redundancy, but as PSD still holds hiring and firing practices, that’s not likely to happen either. I can imagine that with consumer prices going up and with the new GST tax, inflation will exert a greater pressure on the rank-and-file of government to take and ask for bribes.
I personally favour a citizen’s watchdog database-organization that serves to monitor and collate reports on government dealings and to keep track of public accounts, highlighting wastage as needed. It needs to be wholly locally staffed, and receive backing from all major races to avoid it being stereotyped as a anti-Malay thing. I also think a PR strategy to consider would be to align it partially to the Malay-Muslim nationalist agenda –if you want regular everyday Malays to prosper under the government, you need to make sure its doing its job!
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Thanks rockjianrock #10,
Its interesting that placating the Malay-Muslim agenda is always an overriding concern.
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Hi Greg,
I sense some deep frustration on your side.
Well this is a democracy, and that means meeting people in the middle. Non-bumis tend to think that they’re the paragon of Malaysian-ness, while you have time-and-again highlighted how central the Malay identity is to the far right. I think the actual vision of the Malaysian Individual remains undertheorized of how he/she will actually look like.
Why don’t you put up a post on that whole historical revisionist debate that’s been going on? Even Clive Kessler seems to have chipped in.
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@ rockjianrock #12,
Frustrated – not at all. Just very passionate about Malaysia and have a tendency to say it as it is – that’s all.
Not qualified to comment on the historical aspects.
Understanding the psyche of an individual is very difficult. But suffice to say that Muslims in Malaysia have become more conservative (compare Malays in the 60s and today).
And critically, the rule of law and its administration has becomes increasingly lax, because of the changing nature of Malays.
And this is why you point about the middle ground worries me. The middle ground has moved so far to the right, that there is no merit in meeting it halfway. And the reason that it has moved so far to the right is because non – Malays and progressive Muslims have always bent over backwards to accommodate rising Islamic fundamentalism sometimes to placate Muslims but more often in fear of Muslim bigots within UMNO, who use race and religion as a cover for widespread corruption.
Are you living in Malaysia? Have you been following developments in Malaysia. Have you spent time working in a public sector? have you seen our schools change? Have you seen programming on RTM television or radio?
When UMNO goes on a rampage against non – Muslims, you expect the non – Muslims to meet them halfway? What half-way is that.
UMNO’s halfway is simple: as long as non – Malays follow and accept what UMNO says, all will be well. Not very different from the Mafia, wouldn’t you say.
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I tend to concur with rockjianrock on most of the points. However I have some additional comments to add.
1. Malaysian civil service is bloated I agree. Compared with Singapore’s definitely we are over-staffed. However, the Singapore’s system, as I understand, is not about paying all civil servants top dollars. It is only the mgmt level staff are well remunerated. The rank and file do not get to enjoy such privileges. Another interesting aspect of the Singapore system is a reversal of what we have in Malaysia. The rank and file of the public service is staffed by mostly the minorities (Malays and Indians) while the top mgmt are held by the Chinese. You could call this as “Ketuanan Cina”.
2. I would not support the Singapore system of paying only top dollars to top mgmt. We should pay the decision makers much more but the salaries of rank and file should be also revised to match the private sectors. This will bring on some positive impacts.
a. Attract more non bumis to the public service thus increase diversity, improve image and promote unity.
b. Attract better talents (both bumis and non bumis) so the overall quality can be improved
c. Eliminate / Reduce corruption
3. Another key initiative is making processes transparent so that they are less / no chance for corruption. Open tenders, on-line applications, etc are some of the steps that could be taken. I think Pak Lah did well when he cut down a lot of avenues for corruption when he reformed the CF process. I would suggest we should have a body similar to Pemandu in identifying and eliminating corruption.
4. Political parties : Probably you all read how the councilors from Shah Alam boycotted council meeting because they cannot get contracts. And this happened in Selangor, a state under PR. Most of these guys are politicians from PR. Those who are familiar with Selangor and Penang will know that such cases are rampant.
My point is unless all political parties are committed to eliminate corruption, it will be difficult to banish bribery. As such PR cannot claim to oppose corruption but allow such cases to happen and then defend / sweep these under the carpet.
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Greg
I have been living in Malaysia for the past few years and even when I was away I kept in touch.
The problem with you and like-minded people is that you tend to buy lock-stock and barrel what’s written in the alternative media as gospel truth. Mkini, Malaysian Insider,etc are set up not to propagate media freedom but with the sole aim of promoting Pakatan and undemine BN. They tend to amplify and blow up issues to appear as though Malaysia is falling apart and the ethnic divisions are cratering. They also try their hardest to portray UMNO as right-wing terrorists out to oust non bumis from Malaysia. They in effect turn the exceptions into norm. People like Perkasa are fringe group and they do not represent UMNO. Utusan for example do not represent UMNO’s thinking either. Berita Harian also belongs to UMNO but I don’t see anyone saying BH represents UMNO’s views.
It is not that people like you don’t understand this, but merely use Perkasa as bogeyman to fish votes for Pakatan.
I don’t understand when you say about “UMNO going on a rampage against non Muslims”. Please give examples to support your accusations. And don’t say this person said so or Utusan wrote so. When you say UMNO, it has to the official position. Otherwise one can also say Mat Sabu or Nik Aziz’s views Pakatan’s official stance.
If not for UMNO, Malaysia would have turned into an Islamic republic like Iran for that’s the ultimate aim of PAS. No doubt the corner stone of UMNO’s struggle has been race but they had been remarkably moderate about it. Non bumis tend to forget the privileges that they enjoy in Malaysia. I can’t think of another country in the world where minorities have their own schools, temples, radio/tv stations, newspapers,etc. Surely not in Australia. Yet they keep bitching about being discriminated against.
I am a non-bumi and I have yet to see a fellow minority in any part of the world enjoying the kind of benefits that we take for granted in Malaysia.
Also, while many people condemn Perkasa, what is not criticised is the behaviour of some non bumis that many bumis consider highly provocative.
The discourse in Malaysian on-line media is highly one-sided as t covers only from the perspective of non bumis.
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Killer,
I’m not getting the impression here in Singapore that the rank and file of the government service here is mostly Malay and Indian. Actually, the remuneration for an upper second-class honors degree for the government is higher than what you would get compared to the private sector. I am not comfortable with the racialization of the governments either way, as “ketuanan melayu” to me has never meant ethnic domination of government but of politics. Should you accuse the government of such in Singapore, be prepared!
I also don’t think it’s possible that all political parties will be prepared to eliminate corruption. It’s more likely that one or more parties will make some promises to do so. Half of them will be fulfilled, and another half will only properly enforced. The next party then criticises the last for not doing everything they set out to do and makes promises to do better. They might get into power. They fulfil some of them, and ad infinitum. This will be a long, drawn-out war, winning each precious foot of integrity and accountability bit by bit. But is there a democratic polity that is able and willing to keep tally of the records? Are they responsive enough to make a political statement and create political action when something’s really amiss?
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Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
In Malaysia, UMNO has been in power for far too long, and as the saying goes, “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”. Periodic Change of governments will put in place the right checks and balances. In Malaysia this change is needed and is long overdue.
The PDRM(Malaysian Police Force) here in Malaysia behaves like thugs and gangsters, taking orders from their UMNO bosses. There is no independence in the sub. courts, high courts or federal courts, as the judges so very often have to take orders from their political masters(UMNO Bosses).
Deaths in the custody of government agencies, the use of explosives by 2 police personel with close links to the PM to blow up a Mongolian girl, the handling of a peaceful BERSIH rally by the government and the PDRM, etc… These are just some of the atrocious crimes against humanity perpertrated by the current regime, that Malaysians should not, cannot and will not continue to tolerate.
It’s time for all Malaysians irregardless of race, creed or religion to unite against corruption, tyrany, crime against humanity and political gangsterism. It is time to take back the Malaysia that was and is still being robbed by UMNO and their BN partners.
With the general elections just around the corner, we Malaysians must demonstrate to the politicians from both side of the divide that we the rakyat(People), are their bosses.
It is time for the “People’s Power”.
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Edelman’s 2012 Trust Barometer finds that 52% of Malaysians trust the Barisan Nasional government.
Not bad – a simple majority.
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This is a little late, but useful as Malaysia edges closer to the general elections.
Despite spending million of dollar trying to spruce up his administration’s image, and stating that he will have zero tolerance for corruption, Mr. Najib Razak, prime minister of Malaysia, could not sway the opinions of Malaysians and people who live, work and trade in and/or with Malaysia.
I wonder what is required of Mr. Najib Razak to turn this perception around?
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There is really no need to wonder about the things that need to be done. All Najib has to do is to actually do 20% of the things that he said. As it is, most are just slogans and not much else.
Corruption in Malaysia is endemic and mostly structural. It has been going on for so long without much consequence to the “powers that be” that it is extremely difficult to erase. The corrupt mind-set is probably coded in the DNA by now, according to Darwinian theory.
This is not to say that it is impossible. The Govt (Najib’s), if it really wants to can take on corruption, can do it layer by layer. The first layer – the one that interacts with the public directly, if tackled would bring a sense of believe that the Govt is serious about corruption.
It is not that hard either – just replace obscure procedures with clearly written ones, complete with person / job title responsible for each procedure. have a clear consequence, also written for failure to perform his / her duties according to the guidelines. The immigration dept (dealing with Malaysians for Malaysians requirements only) is a good example of this improvement.
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This story in the Asian Sentinel provides an in-depth analysis of the recent settlement between the Najib administration and Tajuddin Ramli, one time Mahathir and UMNO poster boy of Malay corporate success on his outstanding debts (more than half a billion ringgit).
The article provides even further evidence that UMNO is indeed beyond redemption and all of Najib’s tough talk of stamping out corruption is just as empty as his political slogan “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.”
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This is what Malaysia needs – a firm kick up the butt. Well done Peter Butler.
http://www.espnstar.com/football/asian-football/news/detail/item850637/Butler:-Sharbinee-will-not-play-for-me-again/
http://thediplomat.com/sport-culture/2012/09/07/i-have-never-sold-a-match/
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