Our Leaders and their followers need to know: All the glitter and promises galore cannot whitewash the sins of corruption and greed

 

If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the

stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of ‘see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil’.  

J. D. Lovrenciear 

As we inch to our probably, most fiercely-to-be-fought general elections, the exposes of corrupt deeds and intentions are heart-arresting.

Because one is innocent until proven guilty, all exposes remain as mere allegations until and unless due justice can ever be dispensed without fear or favor.

But ask any humble simpleton on the street, “Is Malaysia not corrupted?” and you better be forewarned for the surprised frown you will get.

What is mind-boggling however is the torrent of denials that cascade from the implicated crooks and the rebuttals of poison darts aimed at the whistle-blowers by the die-hard supporters.

It is either we have lost all sense and understanding of the true essence of patriotism or those who support suspicious crooks and ‘alleged’ nation-robbers  are just as guilty as they may be siphoning parasites on the branch of corruption and greed.

So how do we clean this nation and ensure a fair, democratic and equitable distribution of the nation’s heavenly endowed resources and wealth so that all caring and hard-working Malaysians prosper and bask in the sunshine of progress and development?

As it is, already Malaysians are on the dole - this is despite the claims by the powers that be that Malaysia is registering very healthy growth rates!

The yardstick of sufferings brought about by corruption and greed is in the very grandiose and seemingly sensitively caring actions the PM of Malaysia is peddling.

Take the case of the cash hand outs by the BN-administered government. It makes a mockery of aid and assistance. RM500 per year works out to RM41.67 per month. That is a distasteful RM1.39 per day handout to the recipient. 

Holy of holies! What kind of beggars are Malaysians made out to be? Even a street bumpkin can stretch out his lazy hands and pocket a good RM30 to RM50 a day begging along Chow Kit, mate!

Then you have a coffee table book launched by the Who’s Who of Malaysia with a categorical proclamation that it would do well for all Malaysians for a 100 - 200 years to come. And we clap our hands in jubilation, while corporations snap up hundreds of books – making it into the Malaysia Book of Records for sales!

And we proclaim that we may in all likelihood attain developed nation status well before the deadline of 2020?

You have a video expose on land grabs, and you cannot even hear a whisper from within the corridors of power?

Restricted ammunition was used to annihilate a sole, helpless fragile woman from a foreign land, and we are still waiting for justice to appease humanity?

Cows go missing but we have no qualms in singing “what’s wrong in parking a half-million ringgit car in my porch”?

We let a water-village to mushroom over decades, and only now you hear of the need to place that large-scale dwelling under security vigilance?

Take a look at the way the many more whale-size court cases are being dragged at snail’s pace within the Palace of Justice. If ‘sandiwara’ is not the right word then pray tell what is.

There was a time when we were led to believe that Malaysia is a corruption free nation. That was the time when we looked and jeered at our neighboring countries for all the sordid corrupt dealings. But today, we are at a point where our neighbors have fought well and are in the process of cleaning up the messes and putting transparent accountability on the table for all to view. Their media is the catalyst for that change.

But can we say the same for ourselves now?

 

If anyone cries of an allegation – or even goes beyond all reasonable doubt to help unravel the stink, our mainstream media takes the proverbial stance of ‘see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil’.  

The on-line media on the other hand has been labeled as untrustworthy anyway by the powers that be.

And the authorities who are the vanguards of good conduct and law enforcement, will stand sheltered behind that often quoted statement that we cannot act until a report is lodged.

If we can get away by saying ‘semua-nya ok’ and that infamous edict, ‘tutup satu mata’; if we can state without batting an eye, ‘aiya, who is not corrupt lah’; when we accept the mantra of ‘if he is doing it why I cannot eh?’ – then let us face the truth squarely: When our neighboring nations make progress having won their battle fighting corruption and greed with a resolute, national will and conscience, we Malaysians may in all likelihood be sinking with the very yoke of patronizing this sin against an entire nation – past, present and future while the handful laugh all the way to the bank.

For as long as we are in denial, we are busted!

For as long as we sing that rhyme, ‘we have delivered on our promises of grandeur and progress; we will deliver more’ when we cannot even lift a convincing finger to arrest the very disease that is depriving Malaysians and reducing them to a point that they have to accept RM1.39 a day of handout, we need to know that we are losers.

Let truth be told: all the glitter and promises galore cannot whitewash the sins of corruption and greed. And it is that working rakyat who finally will have to pay that painful price.