While there are some positive features in the 2016 Federal Budget, there is a glaring omission
in it: there is hardly any mention of how the government intends to step up its battle against
corruption or how it plans to reduce persistent leakages or enhance integrity in governance.
And yet, integrity at all levels of society --- especially at the apex --- is the greatest challenge
facing the nation today.
The Budget could have addressed this challenge from various perspectives. It could have
proposed specific, concrete measures that government departments and state agencies would
undertake in order to overcome problems arising from ministerial and departmental over-
spending, above market-price purchases and delays in approvals --- all of which have often
been highlighted by the Auditor-General in his comprehensive audit reports. The millions of
ringgit lost year in and year out from acts of omission and commission of this sort could have
been better utilized for the well-being of the people.
The lack of effective enforcement by state institutions has also cost us dearly. Instead of dealing
with the culprits through punitive measures that serve as effective deterrents, the tendency is
to choose a mild mode of punishment which has very little impact upon the wrongdoer. As a
result, wrongdoings have become more and more serious over the decades. The human
trafficking tragedy at the Malaysia-Thai border exposed earlier this year that resulted in the
deaths of scores of Rohingyas is an example of what can happen when enforcement officers fail
to carry out their duties mainly because they had compromised their integrity.
If such erring officers are not caught or punished severely, part of the reason may be because
there is no institution that has the powers to conduct truly independent investigations into the
misdeeds of enforcement personnel and enforcement agencies. There is an urgent need for
such an independent institution which will have the full authority to act against enforcers
whether they are from the police or immigration or some other agency. The present
Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) does have the power to act effectively. This is
why the Budget could have provided for the establishment of such an entity staffed with well
trained personnel capable of adhering to the highest standards of integrity.
The Budget could have also perhaps allocated more resources for the enhancement of
knowledge and skills among anti-corruption officials at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) which by and large has discharged its duties with distinction. Such
upgrading is imperative in an environment in which acts of corruption have become more
sophisticated and transcend national boundaries. The 1MDB episode is a case in point. Money-
laundering today for instance has become far more complex than what it was two or three
To put it in a nutshell, the 2016 Budget does not indicate that the powers-that-be are serious or
sincere about combating high-level corruption and strengthening the sinews of integrity in
Malaysian society. It is perhaps a manifestation of the major cause of the spread of the scourge
of corruption: the lack of political will among those who wield power and influence.
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar,
Chairman Board of Trustees,
Yayasan 1Malaysia.
24 October 2015.
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