Can we stop corruption?

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Following my previous post on corruption, it is clear that ALLAH has made this worldly stuff as test, wealth is for sharing with the poor not just family members, whatever that we have earned from corruption or any activities related to corrupted ways will only be fuel in the Hell to burn us. We only feel the pleasure in this World from what we have gained using corrupted means but it will be the worst consequence in the Life after death. Read ALLAH's words in my previous post.

Interestingly, no matter how much ALLAH has warned us to stay away from haram income and corruption, some people just can't live without it, seriously. It is as if that corruption has been a part of their life, their culture.

I remember when I was in school, I was the secretary of a society and we decided to organised a motivation camping for the students who were not doing well in their studies. It was fully funded by the school and Jabatan Pendidikan Daerah. When I was doing the budget, my teacher told me that I have to use all the money provided, no matter how. I was puzzled, why we need to use all the money cause I have been taught at home that we should save as much money as we can.

When I went to university, I was very active in my college and organised a lot of programmes. I was told that it is very usual for people to fake the receipts and wrote in the budget report more than what we have spent so that we can get extra money for the society we were in. I was not quite understand why we need to do it through this way, but I learned 'the way'.

Later, I realised that it is a form of corruption and it's completely wrong but people still don't really take it as something serious. I can understand if the corruption involved no more than hundreds of Ringgit Malaysia (even 1 cent of corruption is wrong actually) but what about billions & trillions? You can actually sell the whole country by doing that! PM said he promotes transparency in his government but the more he said so the more corrupted his people are. How? This is for total-beginners.

You are an MP or State Exco or PM or MB or whoever that is in-charged of making policy. You push forward a developmental project and obviously it will get passed cause they are all your friends or you are in power. So then you open the project for contractors to bid for the tender. If you are a DEB supporter, you said only those contractors that fulfill the policy of DEB can compete for the tender. Then you choose the 'best' tender who you think is giving 'the best deal' (to you!). The contractor writes you a budget and during the transaction you earn some commission which is very common in many business around the world, it's a form of courtesy. If you are honest, you either not accepting the commission or you put the money into the government. The commission is around 5%-10% (or more) of the sale price. If the budget is RM 1 billion, you know how much will go to your pocket, right? No need a rocket scientist to tell you. If you submit the bills and receipts of the whole project, tell me who is going to check every piece of them if there are a few fake ones (as I have experienced myself)? The contractor is so happy for you giving them the tender, of course they want a second round, so they will buy your heart by promising more commission, they are very happy to write you whatever number you want on the invoice.

I know about commission in business cause my father is a businessman. I was so involved in helping him with his business before I went to university. I can see all the invoices have a little remark at the bottom showing how much commission and stuff like that. And later when I became a tutor in one of the universities, a colleague (very senior) of mine decided to buy some laboratory equipment and without any sense of shamefulness he admitted that he got some commission in the transaction, like a lot! How disgraceful! Urgh! There is no end in this whole circle. Corruption once started, it's like fire on dry grass, it can only spread but not easy to put off.

I am not denying that there are honest and uncorrupted politicians out there. If there are, I truly wish them well and will pray hard so that ALLAH will make them stand firm on their position to serve the people. But all I can see is corruption. In Perak, because it is not your political friend who used to 'spoon-fed' you become the MB, you started to boycott him. I am not supporting the new Perak MB but I am disgusted with this stupid attitude of the people. At least 2 different organisations have tried to sabotage the new MB - PROWARIS (young Malay Professionals) and the JKKK (Heads of Village Committee) who I know for sure depend much of their income through politics. Why? Because I have lived in Perak with some Malay Ketua Kampungs!

It was in my university time that I got an opportunity to join an Anak Angkat programme. You basically become the foster child of one of the families in a village. I have involved in this kind of programme in Perak & Pahang. My foster father in Perak was very pro-UMNO, same to the village in Pahang. Why? Because my foster father is a Class F Contractor. I remember once, while staying with them (not during the programme anymore but just regular friendly visit to the family which I do once a year) my foster father brought me and other siblings to Ipoh and to the JKR there. He said he is going to ask them to give him a tender near the village, to build road. He said that he will get it cause he is very good with the then MB. If you are not the supporter, this is what you will get.

So, that's how you get a tender. Be the supporters of UMNO and then you know that you sure can soar in your business. This is just one example. And later my foster father is appointed as the Ketua Kampung because he is so good with the then MB. Now you see there is no surprise that all the Ketua Kampung decided to go against the new MB cause they don't know him and they are afraid that he is not the kind of MB that can be easily 'bought'. The new MB said he will have to try his best to cater the need of 41% of Chinese, 50% of Malay and the rest of the people in Perak. There are only 2 Malay Excos in the State Assembly, who will the Malays go to to ask for tenders like how my foster father did if there are only 2 options? And both the options are PAS member who are actually seen as UMNO's traditional rival. If you have been the strongest supporter of UMNO and then you make a U-turn to PAS, erm... don't think that is really going to work. ALLAHU'alam.

So you see, this is one of the problems. MONEY! If the leaders are corrupted, so as the followers. It is so difficult for them to accept the new leaders because they don't 'click' with them. Same to the issue in Terengganu and Perlis. You want the old MBs because they are your 'friends' who you know they will look after you if they are in power. That's why you dare to die to protect them so that if they secure their authority, you secure your pocket. No?

Then came the groups that support the new MBs because they basically are gambling their future on this. It's like making a bet. If you got the right number, you got the money. Behind the support is the power and behind the power is the money. If only people can realise that truly the wealth that they gather here will not be useful even one cent in the life after death, surely they will stop acting like this. If only...

Can we stop the corruption? I hope we will but I am not that very optimistic. Mahathir did try when he said let's take away the stick (tongkat) but people started to boo at him. Corruption has been a part of Malaysian culture, I don't know who can put it to an end but I pray that ALLAH will, if HE willed.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.