HAVING “relieved” Malaysia’s hardcore poor group with a one-time meagre payment of RM100 to tide them over the spiralling cost of living, Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob hinted yesterday (July 3) the likelihood of the allocation being further raised should prices of daily necessities soar.
On June 22, the Bera MP has announced Phase Two of the Bantuan Kerajaan Malaysia (BKM) scheme with an additional cash hand-out of RM630 mil, which brings the size of the entire allocation to RM8.2 bil.
Maybe this is a charade in conjunction with the PM’s Jelajah Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family Aspiration Tour) to please the grassroots amid the looming 15th general election (GE15). Nevertheless, this carrot dangling strategy is both short-term and short-sighted.
Instead of further denting the country fiscal health with the Government’s targetted and blanket subsidies already reaching a “dangerously high” RM77.3 bil or 9% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) when the ideal figure should be less than 2%, the Government should focus on eradicating corruption among the so-called “upper echelons of the society”.
For those in high offices who have been implicated and sentenced for corrupt practices in the past, fines and prison terms must be imposed with immediate effect, with limited avenues for appeal lest the crooks get away on technical grounds.
We must also convince the Malaysian public with photographic evidence of these wrongdoers being escorted to their “free vacation at the Bamboo River resort”. This will definitely send shock waves to all public servants and politicians alike that they would be dealt with in a similar manner should they indulge in under-the-table manoeuvrings.
Shame the corrupt by stripping their titles and pensions, in addition to seizing their assets (as well as that of their immediate family members). The proceeds from their ill-gotten gains can then be channelled to feed needy Malaysians instead of the Government having to dig deep into its almost exhausted coffers.
Accord more authority to graft buster, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), to act without fear or favour on the “big sharks”. The laws and punishment need to reflect society’s disgust with the betrayal and plunder.
In my view, it’s the least they deserve if compared to China or North Korea where corrupt officials are executed through a bullet to the head (with cost of the bullets to be borne by the next-of-kin).
If this is deemed overly harsh and uncivilised, maybe Malaysia can legalise whipping on corrupt civil servants and politicians, regardless of their social standing, as a measure to eradicate the ills of corruption across the land.
As pointed out by the National Patriots Association (PATRIOT) last Friday (July 1), while racial and religious attacks must be condemned, the unending cases of corruption in Malaysia somehow appear far too stubborn to even stall. Plus, our fight against it seems so very disheartening to say the least.
“For a nation that proclaims Islam as its official religion and a faith that is the most dominant in the country, could we not emerge as a beacon of hope and enlightenment for a world struggling to combat corruption?” asked PATRIOTS’s deputy president Retired Commissioner of Police Datuk Zulkifli Mohamed. – July 4, 2022
