Dennis Ignatius
~ Provoking discussion, dissent & debate on politics, diplomacy, human rights & civil society.
The Dismal Reality of Malaysian Political Corruption
18TuesdayMar 2025
Posted in corruption, Malaysia, Politics
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[1] Yet again we are seeing another former prime minister under investigation for corruption. That makes three former prime ministers either in jail, under investigation or charged with corruption; surely another world record. Add to that one deputy prime minister, at least two former chief ministers and several cabinet ministers who at one time or another were investigated or charged and you get a picture of just how rotten the whole system really is.
[2] But we’ve seen a similar show-and-tell performance by the MACC before; it usually ends in an anticlimax. All the jewellery and gold watches that were seized from Najib and Rosmah with so much fanfare a few years ago, for example, were eventually returned to them. So this latest show may not mean much in the end.
[3] Indeed, when it involves senior politicians or well-connected individuals, the show is always quite dramatic at the beginning but it invariably ends with a whimper (Mahathir’s sons), a DNAA (Zahid Hamidi, Riza Aziz and many more) or is allowed to die for want of further action (Sabah scandal, LCS). The current MACC chief must surely have the best record in the world for opening investigations into high-level corruption but thus far he has had zero success in obtaining actual convictions. But the politicians are apparently very happy with his performance as his contract has been extended.
[4] The only time when a corrupt senior politician actually went to jail was of course during the brief period after the 2018 elections when political elites were temporarily in disarray and made the fatal mistake of appointing an outsider (Tommy Thomas) as AG. It was a once-in-a-century convergence of the planets, an aberration. It won’t happen again. Now it back to business as usual.
[5] The other thing to note is that all that loot from the Ismail Sabri investigation – RM170 million in cash, RM7 million in gold bars and an assortment of jewellery – was reportedly siphoned off from just from one single government program. Imagine, then, how much is being looted from the hundreds of other government programs. It is estimated that between 30-40% of the more than RM150 billion that the government spends on procuring goods, works and services is siphoned off each year.
[6] And it goes on and on, year after year. Corrupt politicians and their cronies are the hardest working people in Malaysia – they never sleep, never tire of inventing ways to siphon off public funds and never lack programs to pillage.
[7] The present administration is proving to be a huge disappointment when it comes to fighting corruption. The Madani anti-corruption agenda is just an elaborate PR exercise, fakery on a grand scale. Their SOP is DNAA, NFA or pardons for friends and allies; MACC for everyone else. Nothing quite brings home the absolute absurdity of the government’s position than the sight of the prime minister vociferously railing against corruption while standing beside his deputy who, if not for the DNAA he was generously given, might well be in in prison right now for corruption.
[8] Recently, a RM16.6 billion MINDEF helicopter deal was given to a friend of the prime minister. They say it’s a good deal (and maybe it is) but the lack of transparency, the apparent conflict of interest and the fact that all 28 helicopters could have been purchased outright for about a third of the price (according to some reports) is reminiscent of the scandalous way UMNO did defence procurement. And this from a prime minister who insist he wants to change the system.
[9] Despite all the big talk, there’s really zero interest in fighting corruption where it matters most – among senior politicians. It’s not hard to eradicate corruption; the problem is that there’s simply no political will to do so. If people are making tons of money why would they want to change anything?
[10] We have to face the ugly truth: corruption is too deeply woven into the fabric of Malaysian politics to be rooted out. The entire machinery of government is thoroughly corrupt and beyond cleansing. There are very few good men left. Syndicates, cartels and corrupt politicians have a finger in everything from rice distribution to foreign workers. Anyone who dares to expose corruption – like that whistleblower in Sabah or that intrepid reporter from Malaysiakini – will quickly find themselves harassed, investigated and even charged. There’s no hope left; the war on corruption is over and we have lost!
[Dennis Ignatius |Kuala Lumpur | 18 March 2025]
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