The corrupt and their enablers beware. No less than His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, is after you.
He made this clear even before he acceded to the throne, saying that he will hunt them down.
The king has kept his promise. Calling them traitors in his hard-hitting Royal Address at the opening of the current session of the 15th Parliament on Monday, Sultan Ibrahim told the august house that they “will continue to be pursued until they are found”.
This “no-one-will-escape-scrutiny ” warning, coming as it does from the Head of State, is what people want to hear.
When the king speaks, the earth moves under the p oliticians’ feet. If they were ambling before, they are springing into action now.
This is the assessment of the people, and they are right in their analysis. Just look at how the “before” and “after ” reaction to Sultan Ibrahim’s stern warning.
Granted, Malaysia has the necessary ambition in its Corruption Perception Index target of being among the 25 least corrupt countries in the world by 2033 in the Transparency International (TI) annual survey, but it lacks action at all necessary levels.
Transparency International Malaysia (TIMalaysia) is of a similar view. In a press release announcing TI’s CPI 2024 survey results by the global anti-corruption coalition, it said Malaysia scored 50 points out of 100 just as it did in 2023. Its ranking, too, remained at 57 as in 2023.
This will not do if Malaysia wants to be among the 25 least corrupt nations. According to TI-Malaysia, to be ranked so it must score 68-70 points, which means the country must improve the score by at least two points every year.
TI-Malaysia lists several reasons for the stagnant score, chief among which is that businesses still feel that corruption is still a problem in the public sector. Abuse of power and corruption continues despite the crackdown by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
The businesses can’t be blamed for “perceiving” so. The evidence of lack of action is in the auditor general’s report, year after year: continued adverse reports on wrongdoings and poor governance by government officials.
Little wonder, Malaysians are glad that the king is placing the corrupt and their enablers under scrutiny. Be frightened, we tell them. Because no one will be exempt, regardless of rank, status or office. Yes, no one will be spared; ministers, members of parliament, senators, state assemblymen or civil servants are all covered by the royal radar.
There will be a fasttrack court system to handle graft cases swiftly. Speedy trials and swift resolution of corruption cases are a must to nip the scourge in the bud.
Sultan Ibrahim has called on the people to become the eyes and ears and report any form of corruption and crime.
Putrajaya must make it easy for people to do so. Only in this way can corruption be combated in a major way.
It is unfortunate that those who are tasked with curbing corruption had to wait for a royal reprimand. But we are glad the king did so.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
