Public must move against corruption

As people lose their power to govern themselves, corruption thrives and grows, distorting economies and increasing poverty.

In the 2010 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) announced yesterday, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore tied for the first place with scores of 9.3.

Malaysia remained at 56 with a score of 4.4. Afghanistan, Myanmar and Somalia were at the bottom with scores hovering around 1.

Among the developed countries that saw a decline in their CPI from 2009 to 2010 were Italy, Greece and the United States.

These countries were most affected by the financial crisis which Transparency International says was " precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits."

Malaysia's efforts to curb corruption through the National Key Result Areas of the Government Transformation Programme are still perhaps in the incipient stage.

The recently released 2009 Auditor General's Report which has highlighted mismanagement and abuse of public sector financial resources, further underscores the fact that corruption is endemic in the country.

It is preposterous that millions of ringgit from the stimulus package funds have been spent on chandeliers and other decorative items for VIP rooms at naval bases.

Imagine when a single mother goes to collect her monthly welfare assistance of only RM300 , she is informed to come back weeks later as the money has not arrived.

The Fisheries Department has wasted RM30 million on a failed tuna project. And school children are served sandwiches without sardines, under the school food programme, stated the AG's Report.

These blatant abuses in public procurement are indicative that risks and opportunities for corruption have not been reduced in the public sector.

In the area of procurement, dysfunction and misuse of power can drain considerable resources of a country. The MACC has issued a statement that it will investigate the abuses and discrepancies highlighted in the 2009 Auditor General's Report.

 The public expects the MACC to bring to book those responsible for this shameful state of affairs.

 Crucial roles

Corruption remains a major problem in the country. Policy solutions to eradicate poverty, move the country into a high income nation and achieving the goals of sustainable development are all at risk.

Globally, civil society organisations have played crucial roles in every aspect of the governance and development processes as stakeholders of the nation. In Malaysia, we need to generate a strong people's movement against corruption.

We have yet to see the emergence of such a movement. Once a year, we see men in ties and bows announce the annual CPI. These announcements are highlighted in the media followed by critical public reactions. We need to go beyond reacting to announcements.

Citizens need to be organised , mobilised and empowered to fight and curb corruption. Citizens must see themselves as workers, consumers, taxpayers, voters and shareholders. We have rights in each of these roles.

The misuse of economic resources, the curtailment of citizen's voices, the private taking of public assets owned by all Malaysians and the exploitation of natural resources must be stopped. Citizens need to be equipped with the power tools to communicate and to mobilise to demand for greater transparency and accountability from political leaders and bureaucrats.

For this to happen,Malaysia needs a unified platform of organisations and individuals to wage the war against corruption.

Without a grassroots movement with area representation, we are not likely to see improvements in the CPI. The struggle against corruption can only he won through the participation of citizens.

One voice

Countries that have been able to punish the corrupt and improve transparency and integrity in government have done so because citizens came together as one voice in the battle against corruption.

In Taiwan, for example, the 2006 One million Peoples Campaign against corruption resulted in the resignation of a president who was later tried and imprisoned for corruption .

In South Korea, civil society blacklisted corrupt candidates during the elections and campaigned successfully against them.

In Indonesia, in Dec 2009, thousands of people marched against corruption throughout the archipelago. Senior corrupt officials are seeing the prospects of finishing their careers behind bars.

What therefore is needed is a citizen's empowerment agenda that will help citizens understand the tools they can use to demand greater transparency and accountability from the civil service and local authorities and the private sector.

One such tool is participation and exercise of our rights and responsibilities as citizens at the local level.

On a daily basis, many of us see clogged drains, rats running around shops in housing areas including up market ones, flies in restaurants, uncollected garbage etc.

We ignore these sights and fail to exercise our democratic right to protest against these conditions which imperil our health. These are signs of corruption that may grow into piles as it happened in Nairobi.

"The shocking rot of Nairobi's main market was exposed yesterday when it was revealed that 6,000 rats were killed in last week's cleanup exercise - and an equal number made good their escape. Wakulima Market, through which a majority of Nairobi's three million residents get their food, had not been cleaned for thirty years. So filthy was it that traders who have been at the market daily for decades were shocked to see that below the muck they have been wading through, there was tarmac. More than 750 tonnes of garbage was removed and more than seventy tonnes of fecal waste sucked out of the horror toilets."

Source: East African Standard, 4 Jan 2005, quoted in the story of a Kenyan whistleblower - ‘It's Our Turn To Eat' by Michela Wrong.

 Giant rubbish dump

Corruption in many countries resembles a giant rubbish dump.

Each layer perhaps resembles the period during which a particular group of bureaucrats , politicians and councilors managed a local authority!

Such comparisons are powerful tools to awaken people to the fact that they are victims of corruption.

Citizens in many countries are fighting to curb corruption in at the local and national levels.

They are organising and strategically using nonviolent actions such as signature campaigns, vigils, marches, sit-ins to demand for repeal of draconian laws and enacting legislation such as the Right to Information , monitoring and auditing of authorities, budgets, spending and services, social networking and blogging, creation of independent institutions, social and economic empowerment initiatives, music , humor and public pledges.

It is the business of every citizen to engage in the war against corruption through a multitude of possible and peaceful but effective actions.

JOSIE M FERNANDEZ is currently an Asian Public Intellectual Fellow, director of Philanthropy Asia, and researcher . Working on sustainability, philanthropy and anti-corruption actions are some of her current passions besides writing.