DOES it pay to be corrupt in Malaysia? Or rather is the risk of getting caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar worth it?
From an early age, we are told it’s wrong regardless of whether one is caught or not or the motivations. But the recent conviction of Malaysian Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) ex-CEO for graft has once again interfered with the readings in our moral compass.
MARii is an entity under the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) and its ex-CEO Madani Sahari was recently sentenced to one year in prison and fined RM100,000 by two sessions courts in Kuala Lumpur for corruption.
According to news reports, he had secured a RM6.4 mil automotive training contract and received RM5 mil in cash between 2019 and 2021.
If Madani receives the customary one-third remission for good behaviour, he’d be out of jail in nine months – just in time to celebrate the Hari Raya Aidilfitri scheduled for April 2025.
Is the nine months spent behind the slammers and the RM100,000 fine worth the embezzlement of millions? Morally, that question should not even be asked as nothing can justify corruption, no matter the repercussions.
But given the slap-on-the-wrist penalties which Madani received for his crimes, one can be forgiven for thinking that it pays to be corrupt.
Juxtapose Madani’s sentence against that of Jamaluddin Yusof’s who was sentenced to one month’s jail for stealing sardines, mouthwash and coffee powder in Parit Raja, Johor last April.
Where is the fairness? How are we to teach our kids that it doesn’t pay to be corrupt?
Let’s not forget ex-Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who had his 12-year jail sentence halved and his fine reduced from RM210 mil to RM50 mil. What kind of lessons are we imparting to our kids when the elites get away with a slap on the wrist while lesser mortals face the full brunt of the law?
Corruption shouldn’t be seen as a game where the rich play and the poor pay. Until we balance the scales of justice, we risk creating a society where it indeed “pays” to be corrupt.
And in that society, the real crime isn’t just the corruption itself – it’s the eroded trust in the very foundations of our morality and justice system. – July 22, 2024
Main image credit: Paul Tan’s Automotive News
