Saturday, December 06, 2003

Corruption All The Way

When a child is born and she is not wanted by her natural parents, someone who is kind enough would offer to be her foster parents. To avoid future problem, the foster parents wish to make her as if she is their natural child. One way to do it is to have their names registered in her birth certificate. Law would not allowed that. But there are thousands of cases happening everywhere. How? Pay your way through!

When parents wish to send their children to their desired school, be it for convenience, results oriented or prestige, schools normally have lot of reasons and excuses not to accept unallocated students. Some reasons are genuine but some are purposely created and exagerated. If you have papers with the king's picture on it, use them and you will get in to the school you wished.

When foreigners arrived, with money, they could become a citizen faster than those locally born. How? Buy a birth certificate and get yourself a mykad identity card. Where to buy? Of course from the inciders. Outsiders would never know how without the insiders leading the way. Better still if there are politicians backing to make it a business. Identity cards, passports, government papers, no problem as long as you are willing to pay.

When you want a driving license without wanting to go through all the hassle of waiting, get the agent and pay. Payment is inclusive of the driving test and 'coffee money' for the tester. That's why you hear of 'lesen kopi O'. If you don't pay, no matter how good you are, you tend to fail every time. If you pay, you get your license, fast, no question.

When you are driving without a license and booked, no problem. If the policemen do not know what to do and ask you, "Jadi sekarang macam mana?", you know for sure you are going to be let off if you pay. Speeding, drink and drive, talking on handphone while driving, forget your safety belt, and more, pay, when you are put in a situation where you know what to do. Even if you do bad things, you keep your good name and clean record, as long as you pay.

If you are staying in a big bunglow, fully air-conditioned and equiped with sophisticated electrical appliances, pay the insider from electricity board. They will help you fix your meter and you get more but pay less. that's how the advertisement says. Is it some new found secret? No, it has been there long enough. But why no checking till now? Simple, big fishes are involved. They would not want to check on their own backyard. Checking will only being carried out if it does not conflict their intrests.

Coming back from overseas with a lot of goods? No problem if you do not wish to pay for taxes and duties. Pay the guy who check on you. Are you evading taxes? No, you are not. The officer on duty let you go. So you are not guilty. Is he guilty? No, he does that all the while.

Competing for a contract or tender? How to secure the contract? Simple, pay to get information you want, either to reduce your bid value or have someone to make the opponet's documents disqualify. Not a bumiputera? No problem, go Ali Baba.

Lobbying for bigger contract? Get a partner from inside. Offer him the percentage he requested. Jack up your price and it will be justified during 'direct negotiation'. The public will eventually made to pay for the extras because they are the tax payers. Government will make them pay.

The list can go on and on. We have been catching small fish all this while. Small fish is easier to catch because small fish could not afford big money, could not afford to pay the big shark, that's why they are caught and prosecuted in court. Small fish is the scape goat, the 'show' to show the public that we are serious in combating corruption.

Big sharks will never get booked because they are 'big' enough and rich enough with cash. Just pay your way through and you will get what you want. When your name gets dirty, pay for a datukship or a Justice of Peace, so that you could do 'name laundry' (similar to money laundry).

To combat corruption, it should start from the inside. Insiders are the one who created all the red-tap, delays and unwanted hassle for the public. They are the one who leak out information for sale. Get them first.

Public servants must be thoroughly screened and interviewed before employment, not through back door or recommendation of certain YBs or Datuks. If the starting is wrong it will be wrong all the way. If YBs and Datuks are allowed to interfere in government administration through money and authorities, there is no way one could do any house cleaning and there will be no room for improvement.

Show the public a genuine case of seriousness in combating corruption, book and charge a BIG FISH. If we are still going after ikan bilis, forget it.

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