Political corruption - bane of transitional democracies
JohnPublished: Jan 20, 2010 9:24 AM | Updated: Jan 20, 2010 9:25 AM
I refer to the letter 'If you hate Malaysia so much, go back' written by a brave young lady who has decided to do her part in striving towards change for a better Malaysia and a better tomorrow for her future kids.
One can say that Malaysia is in a kind of transitional democracy, having the spirit, form and framework in place, but having merely lip-service commitment just enough to meet international expectations without being perceived as being an absolute pariah regime. The political head honchos learn extremely well from their former colonial masters!
As we are all aware, over the many decades, hardly a day goes by without a government being rattled by the uncovering of corrupt political practices by power-holders as no political system seems to be immune to corruption.
From the emergence of the new oligarches in Russia, from Watergate in the US to the startling revelations of the Tangentopoli affair in Italy, from the cash for peerage scandal in the UK to the streak of scandals that have long plagued Japanese politics, the list of ethical lapses that have put democratic institutions under stress is truly endless.
And this is only democracies where a measure of checks and balances is in place. In all likelihood however, other regimes - where transparency may be as scarce as freedom - fare much worse.
As Lord Acton’s famous aphorism is keen to remind us, ‘power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’
In the last decade, many countries have introduced over-ambitious regulations, usually in response to scandal or external pressure.
On the other hand, feeble enforcement of anti-corruption regulations may be due to inadequate funding that does not enable the responsible regulatory body to administer the country’s ambitious regulatory framework.
As scandals pass and new priorities emerge, countries can lose their enthusiasm for reforms and for providing the financial and human resources needed to carry out the fight against political corruption.
Regardless of the reason, blatant disregard of laws dealing with political integrity is among the most common problems for transitional democracies.
One can say that Malaysia is in a kind of transitional democracy, having the spirit, form and framework in place, but having merely lip-service commitment just enough to meet international expectations without being perceived as being an absolute pariah regime. The political head honchos learn extremely well from their former colonial masters!
As we are all aware, over the many decades, hardly a day goes by without a government being rattled by the uncovering of corrupt political practices by power-holders as no political system seems to be immune to corruption.
From the emergence of the new oligarches in Russia, from Watergate in the US to the startling revelations of the Tangentopoli affair in Italy, from the cash for peerage scandal in the UK to the streak of scandals that have long plagued Japanese politics, the list of ethical lapses that have put democratic institutions under stress is truly endless.
And this is only democracies where a measure of checks and balances is in place. In all likelihood however, other regimes - where transparency may be as scarce as freedom - fare much worse.
As Lord Acton’s famous aphorism is keen to remind us, ‘power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’
In the last decade, many countries have introduced over-ambitious regulations, usually in response to scandal or external pressure.
On the other hand, feeble enforcement of anti-corruption regulations may be due to inadequate funding that does not enable the responsible regulatory body to administer the country’s ambitious regulatory framework.
As scandals pass and new priorities emerge, countries can lose their enthusiasm for reforms and for providing the financial and human resources needed to carry out the fight against political corruption.
Regardless of the reason, blatant disregard of laws dealing with political integrity is among the most common problems for transitional democracies.
View Comments0