Malaysia in the 15GE should resolve to be the top OIC country in TI CPI instead of losing to five other OIC countries and likely lose out to another 10 OIC countries by end of the decade
Sultan Nazrin of Perak’s warning last Thursday to Malaysians not to be in denial and not to perform “mental acrobatics to deny the existence of the corruption ‘elephant’ that is vividly happen in front of our eyes” is most apt and timely.
This is because we are at the point where Malaysians must decide whether to unite to save the country from the catastrophe of corruption and kleptocracy or surrender to corruption and allow the country to be a failed and rogue state and a kleptocratic regime.
August 23, 2022 may prove to be the date when Malaysians can hope and strive again, that Malaysia has not reached the irredeemable and condemned stage where men and women of good sense and integrity give up completely, either to emigrate and spark a second Malaysian Disapora, or to accept with resignation Malaysia becoming a failed state and a kleptocracy.
Can Malaysia reset its nation-building principles and policies to fulfil her potential as the confluence of the four great civilisations to become a world-class great plural nation, where in the words Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia becomes “a beacon of light to a difficult and distracted world”.
The Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly would be more effective and impactful if Malaysia had succeeded in becoming “a beacon of light to a difficult and distracted world” rather than a country in the trajectory of a failed state and a kleptocratic regime.
In launching Professor Kamal Hassan’s book “Corruption and Hypocrisy in Malay Muslim Politics”, Sultan Nazrin considered corruption a “disease” and “cancerous” outbreak within the society.
He stressed that corruption cannot be taken lightly and an honest assessment of corruption should be mandatory based on facts, as proof that we are truly serious in fighting and combatting even to the point of totally eliminating corruption.
He said out of the 180 countries that have been evaluated by Transparency International (TI), Malaysia fell from the 57th position, earning a score of 52 in 2020, to 62nd place earning a score of 48 in 2021 – grouping Malaysia with two-thirds of the countries that have earned a score below 50.
In the first annual 1995 TI Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Malaysia was way ahead of China, India, Indonesia and the Organisatiuon of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries, but in the past three decades, China, India and Indonesia have made great strikes in combating corruption to the extent that Malaysia is likely to lose out to China, India and Indonesia by the end of this decade.
In the first annual TI CPI in 1995, Malaysia was the top OIC country, but in the 2021 TI CPI, we have lost out of five OIC countries, namely United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brunei, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
I dread the 2022 TI CPI report for Malaysia, for it is going to be worse.
If Malaysia does not buck up in the fight against corruption, we stand to lose out not only to China, India and Indonesia by the end of this decade, but also to lose out to at least ten other OIC countries like Jordan, Senegal, Tunisia, Maldives, Bahrain, Kuwait, Burkina Faso, Morocco, Suriname, Turkey, Indonesia and Kazakhatan.
Five years ago, when launching Shahreen Kamaluddin’s book, ‘Fulfilling A Legacy – Tun Razak Foundation’, Sultan Nazrn said that sixty years after Merdeka, corruption had become one of Malaysia’s major ills.
He said that if Tun Razak were alive today, he would be disappointed to see four scenarios happening in the nation – one of which is the rampant corruption in the country.
Malaysians must never lose hope in Malaysia or the Malaysian Dream to be a world-class plural nation of achievement and excellence in every field of human endeavour.
We must dare to grapple with the top problems in the country – like corruption, which must be eradicated with a zero tolerance for corruption from the very top downwards with the Prime Minister setting the example of integrity.
Malaysia in the 15GE should resolve to be the top OIC country in TI CPI instead of losing out to five other OIC countries and likely lose out to another 10 OIC countries by end of the decade.