IS CORRUPTION A NECESSARY EVIL?
…CONSIDER THIS: WITHOUT CORRUPTION, MOST SMALL AND LARGE CHINESE BUSINESS ESTABLIISHMENTS IN MALAYSIA CANNOT SURVIVE THOSE THAT WERE CONDUCTED BY THE CHINESE WHO DROP OUT OF THEIR VERNACULAR MANDARIN SCHOOL EARLY WHO DID NOT HAVE ANY FUTURE IN THE CLEAN WORLD.
By Mansor Puteh
THERE ARE TRACES AND ELEMENTS OF CORRUPTION EVERYWHERE ONE LOOKS AT IN THE COUNTRY.
HOW CAN WE SEE THAT? ONLY THE BLIND CANNOT SEE IT.
ILLEGAL FACTORIES WHICH HAVE BEEN SITTING FOR MANY DECADES, ILLEGAL VIDEO CENTERS WHICH HAVE BEEN OPERATING FOR YEARS AND OTHER ILLEGAL
Yet, the authorities keep on raiding them, while the politicians are not sure what to do in the parliament sittings. They only know how to scream and shout without anyone offering views o how to deal with such and other problems.
The press also does not care. They report and comment on other issues. They are in the same boat as the parliamentarians all of whom are lost.
One of the reasons being the press is Chinese-dominated so they tend to keep their focus on other things so as not to anger their own business community many of whom operate illegally.
Yet, corruption is everywhere – in the streets, by he road sides, with all the small trading being conducted, and the food stalls which are sitting on pieces of land not designated for such activities; at the terrace houses that had been turned into restaurants and stall; at the illegal factories which have been in operations for so long; at the illegal nocturnal activities of all sorts…
So, one has to be completely blind not to be able to actually see corruption. It is everywhere.
And not telling and exposing the truth is also corruption with the newspaper editors who deliberately chose not to highlight illegal petty trading operated because they were operated by the Chinese which are everywhere.
Yet, one can see how some Chinese NGO leaders and commentators who charge the government – meaning the Melayu leaders – for not doing anything to curb corruption or to erase it altogether.
So, is corruption bad? Or is it a necessary evil.
So here is some inconvenient truth.
It is really bad? Bad to whom? And good to who?
Corruption is good for those who want to conduct their business illegally.
It is not good for those who think it is evil.
The truth is corruption is what has been driving the Chinese businesses many of which are illegal ones.
Much of the economy of the Chinese is supported by illegal trading conducted by their brethren many of whom do not have proper academic qualification.
It is an open secret how many Chinese are not well educated; they drop out of their vernacular mandarin school early.
They cannot speak in English and ‘pasar Melayu’ and cannot write well.
Even their Mandarin is of poor quality.
Most of those criminals who were caught for engaging in illegal trading especially counterfeiting discs and illegal money lending are all Chinese.
Yet, most of the illegal factories which have been in operation for so long are all operated by them too.
The NGO leaders have not taken this issue because they are mostly Chinese-dominated. So they look elsewhere.
Even illegal logging is done by the Chinese. Many tracts of jungle land have been cleared. But these well-meaning NGOs did not want to see them.
So few of the illegal loggers have been arrested.
Thanks to corruption, most of the illegal activities that happen in Malaysia are allowed to go on scot-free, without the criminals arrested.
Thanks to corruption which are done by enforcement officers who are mostly Melayu that has allowed those illegal activities to carry on.
And it is also an open secret how many of the illegal business operators had ‘cleaned’ their ill gotten wealth by going into proper business by opening supermarkets or other establishments which act as fronts to ‘clean’ up more ill gotten wealth.
Where did the money for the money lending operations come from, if not from other illegal business activities?
But what about corruption that involves bigger names and establishments with Melayu politicians and other figures involved?
They also happen.
But they are done in collusion with some enterprising Chinese businessmen who wanted to expand their businesses or to get the necessary licenses, permits or projects which they could not get on their own, knowing how the system in Malaysia works that often requires patronage.
And the Melayu can provide them this.
So there is corruption on the small scale as mentioned above and in the larger scale involving in the millions and men who are titled and well positioned.
But the Melayu who are corrupt and who are involved in large scale corruption do so with the collusion of the Chinese businessmen for without which there is no corruption at this level.
The Melayu and the Chinese can stop it. But they do not want to do it because they lose either way. So they need each other.
Still corruption is a necessary evil for both parties; one which has the means to offer it and the other party accepting it by virtue of the special position they have in the government or agencies.
Corruption involving the Chinese and Melayu started long ago when the Chinese first landed in Tanah Melayu, when they did not have anything other than the soiled clothes they were wearing on their backs.
With corruption they were able to get land and other properties to start their small businesses. And with corruption they were able to get permits to operate stores and sell things.
Without corruption the economy of the Chinese could not grow. It was an invention created and brought into the country by the Chinese immigrants.
The Indians who were not so good in this business are left behind.
If the Indians were good in corruption as much as the Chinese, they, too, could have become wealthy now instead of being stuck in poverty.
In fact, the Indians are still not good with corruption till today. So the uneducated Indians with vernacular Tamil school background engage in petty thefts.
Some of them get caught, while some others get away.
There are only so few Indians who have been caught for corruption in Malaysia even now. There are many amongst the Chinese and Melayu since they do it together most of the time.
It is rare to see the Indians and Melayu getting caught or who are involved with corruption at the lower and higher levels. They don’t seem to make a good combination.
By Mansor Puteh
THERE ARE TRACES AND ELEMENTS OF CORRUPTION EVERYWHERE ONE LOOKS AT IN THE COUNTRY.
HOW CAN WE SEE THAT? ONLY THE BLIND CANNOT SEE IT.
ILLEGAL FACTORIES WHICH HAVE BEEN SITTING FOR MANY DECADES, ILLEGAL VIDEO CENTERS WHICH HAVE BEEN OPERATING FOR YEARS AND OTHER ILLEGAL
Yet, the authorities keep on raiding them, while the politicians are not sure what to do in the parliament sittings. They only know how to scream and shout without anyone offering views o how to deal with such and other problems.
The press also does not care. They report and comment on other issues. They are in the same boat as the parliamentarians all of whom are lost.
One of the reasons being the press is Chinese-dominated so they tend to keep their focus on other things so as not to anger their own business community many of whom operate illegally.
Yet, corruption is everywhere – in the streets, by he road sides, with all the small trading being conducted, and the food stalls which are sitting on pieces of land not designated for such activities; at the terrace houses that had been turned into restaurants and stall; at the illegal factories which have been in operations for so long; at the illegal nocturnal activities of all sorts…
So, one has to be completely blind not to be able to actually see corruption. It is everywhere.
And not telling and exposing the truth is also corruption with the newspaper editors who deliberately chose not to highlight illegal petty trading operated because they were operated by the Chinese which are everywhere.
Yet, one can see how some Chinese NGO leaders and commentators who charge the government – meaning the Melayu leaders – for not doing anything to curb corruption or to erase it altogether.
So, is corruption bad? Or is it a necessary evil.
So here is some inconvenient truth.
It is really bad? Bad to whom? And good to who?
Corruption is good for those who want to conduct their business illegally.
It is not good for those who think it is evil.
The truth is corruption is what has been driving the Chinese businesses many of which are illegal ones.
Much of the economy of the Chinese is supported by illegal trading conducted by their brethren many of whom do not have proper academic qualification.
It is an open secret how many Chinese are not well educated; they drop out of their vernacular mandarin school early.
They cannot speak in English and ‘pasar Melayu’ and cannot write well.
Even their Mandarin is of poor quality.
Most of those criminals who were caught for engaging in illegal trading especially counterfeiting discs and illegal money lending are all Chinese.
Yet, most of the illegal factories which have been in operation for so long are all operated by them too.
The NGO leaders have not taken this issue because they are mostly Chinese-dominated. So they look elsewhere.
Even illegal logging is done by the Chinese. Many tracts of jungle land have been cleared. But these well-meaning NGOs did not want to see them.
So few of the illegal loggers have been arrested.
Thanks to corruption, most of the illegal activities that happen in Malaysia are allowed to go on scot-free, without the criminals arrested.
Thanks to corruption which are done by enforcement officers who are mostly Melayu that has allowed those illegal activities to carry on.
And it is also an open secret how many of the illegal business operators had ‘cleaned’ their ill gotten wealth by going into proper business by opening supermarkets or other establishments which act as fronts to ‘clean’ up more ill gotten wealth.
Where did the money for the money lending operations come from, if not from other illegal business activities?
But what about corruption that involves bigger names and establishments with Melayu politicians and other figures involved?
They also happen.
But they are done in collusion with some enterprising Chinese businessmen who wanted to expand their businesses or to get the necessary licenses, permits or projects which they could not get on their own, knowing how the system in Malaysia works that often requires patronage.
And the Melayu can provide them this.
So there is corruption on the small scale as mentioned above and in the larger scale involving in the millions and men who are titled and well positioned.
But the Melayu who are corrupt and who are involved in large scale corruption do so with the collusion of the Chinese businessmen for without which there is no corruption at this level.
The Melayu and the Chinese can stop it. But they do not want to do it because they lose either way. So they need each other.
Still corruption is a necessary evil for both parties; one which has the means to offer it and the other party accepting it by virtue of the special position they have in the government or agencies.
Corruption involving the Chinese and Melayu started long ago when the Chinese first landed in Tanah Melayu, when they did not have anything other than the soiled clothes they were wearing on their backs.
With corruption they were able to get land and other properties to start their small businesses. And with corruption they were able to get permits to operate stores and sell things.
Without corruption the economy of the Chinese could not grow. It was an invention created and brought into the country by the Chinese immigrants.
The Indians who were not so good in this business are left behind.
If the Indians were good in corruption as much as the Chinese, they, too, could have become wealthy now instead of being stuck in poverty.
In fact, the Indians are still not good with corruption till today. So the uneducated Indians with vernacular Tamil school background engage in petty thefts.
Some of them get caught, while some others get away.
There are only so few Indians who have been caught for corruption in Malaysia even now. There are many amongst the Chinese and Melayu since they do it together most of the time.
It is rare to see the Indians and Melayu getting caught or who are involved with corruption at the lower and higher levels. They don’t seem to make a good combination.
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