How is it that politicians in this country get so rich after being voted into office?
12 Mar 2024 • 10:30 AM MYT
FLK
Used to do a bit of work in corporate restructuring, corporate `undertaker.
Image credit: The Star
A former minister, Salleh Said Keruak reportedly said that even though Malaysia has a small number of wealthy Malay businessmen, in reality, there are a large number of very wealthy Malay politicians.
He was responding to the Malay elite who were worried that the number of successful non-Malay businessmen outnumbers that of their Malay counterparts.
Can someone explain to the ordinary rakyat how a Member of Parliament (MP) or a State Assemblymen can become a multimillionaire on a yearly salary of around RM200,000 or less than RM20,000 per month?
We can go on and on how some of them could be staying in nice huge bungalows in affluent areas and the whole family including the offsprings goes around driving luxury marquee models after only approximately 1 term in office?
Yes, agreed that not all politicians are able to amass such wealth.
Some still struggle to make ends meet.
Except for Tun Daim who claimed his liquid assets stood at over RM750 million before he joined the government as the Finance Minister in 1984, Malaysia rarely sees any millionaires or billionaires run for election and become politicians.
Recent cases probably include the late Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis, Edmund Santhara and Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani.
Aside from the US (Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg, Ross Perot to name a few), billionaires or millionaires in Taiwan (Terry Gou of Foxconn), Italy (the late Silvio Berlusconi who used to own the AC Milan football team), Chile (Sebastian Pinera, who made his fortune from telecommunications) and Thailand (Thaksin Shinawatra) joined politics after they made their fortune.
This phenomenon is not exclusive to this country.
Globally, numerous politicians have amassed wealth that defies their official incomes too.
In Malaysia, it is an open secret that every general election is an advance auction of `stolen goods’.
Again it is an open secret that politicians get rich by abdicating their responsibilities to uphold and defend the constitution and govern in the best interest of all Malaysians.
We voted for them and blame them later.
They allow special interest groups to influence legislation.
A lot of these politicians are manipulators.
They gaslights the Malays for them to believe that the non Muslims are the source of their misery and misfortune.
By now, majority of the ordinary rakyat knew that all our leaders wants to get elected because they seek to become super rich.
Being a politician is an occupation.
An occupation no one among us wants to try.
Politicians are well associated with the business class who knows how to earn money by any means.
You may observe some times that one politician blame the other politician of current ruling government of a scandal or being corrupt with actual proofs and a few days later, any other leader or party speaker of that ruling party comes up with bribe incidents of the opposition.
And in a month or so the news goes off the headlines.
These politicians preached and exhort their culture of political correctness to their supporters and followers where their misfortune is due to others and not themselves.
They know that they won’t be held accountable for their actions.
They know that they have exempted themselves from rules of fair play.
Then they proposed projects on the guise that it is to help their supporters and followers when in actual fact it is to benefit them and allow them to profit off it.
If you ask a group of 10 people about their views on politics, 6–7 people will surely come up with this answer '' Not interested. All of them are corrupted and ruining our country ''.
These politicians knows that majority of the ordinary rakyat are inattentive to public affairs.
And because of the disinterests from the public, these politicians become wolves.
It is the law of our general nature.
They exempt themselves from prosecution from insider trading laws and influence legislation that is favorable to business they or family and friends own.
Large donors buy huge numbers of the “ghost” written books and warehouse them or give them away. This way large amounts of money are accumulated in campaign funds which can become private funds a
They hobnob with the millionaire and billionaire businessmen and envy them and are convinced that they should be rewarded have the same.
Being around money, rubbing elbows with money, they look and find many opportunities to make money and become multi-millionaires.
Whether through legal insider trading, using government or campaign resources for personal use, getting cushy corporate board member or CEO jobs, taking illegal bribes, doing business deals, helping family members profit off their office, voting pay increases for themselves, they soon figure out how to work the system so somebody else is paying every personal desire or expense and every money making action directs a lot or a little money into their pocket or a relative’s pocket.
And then they will say I am both a respected leader who served the public good and a hardworking, deserving multi-millionaire.
They saved and invested their Tabung money , all Halal... wakakakakaka
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