Letter to Editor
MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said that Malaysia lost around RM277 bil to corruption over the past five years between 2018 and 2023.
This is based on cumulative domestic product, Azam said during the launch of the National Anti-Corruption Strategies (NACS) 2024–2028 in Putrajaya on Tuesday, May 7.
He highlighted anti-corruption strategies of enhancing integrity, transparency, and accountability across sectors such as politics, public administration, government procurement, law enforcement, legislative and judicial institutions, and the private sector.
To me as a layman with minimum financial literacy knowledge, I was trying to figure out how much RM277 bil – which is an average of RM55 bil per year – can buy, build or serve Malaysians through a Google search.
To my surprise, consternation and despair, the following gave – in terms of tangible and non-tangible goods and services – an understanding and comprehension of how the huge amount of money could have served the country.
- The government could have provided 5 million computers per year for underprivileged Malaysians that would allow them to learn new skills and sell things online to generate an income.
- RM5 bil ringgit of corruption per year on an average can buy 150 million cans of 1.8kg baby milk formula for struggling parents. Mind you, the cost of raising a baby in Malaysia is not cheap and many are struggling.
- Full scholarships of RM3 mil per year for 640,000 students to get a degree at a private university if it costs an average of RM 25,000 a year in tuition fees to pursue a degree at a private university in Malaysia. An undergraduate degree spanning four years would arguably cost a total of RM 100,000.
- It can pay RM750 mil per year to talented fresh graduates to teach rural students English for two years, to our next generation before moving on to their respective careers.
- The Petronas Twin Towers cost US$1.6 bil to build back in the late 1990s. So, we could have built a minimum of 50 twin towers per year with RM50 bil from the corrupted money per year.
- It could have purchased 22,500 units of condominiums per year with an average price of RM500,000 each.
- It could have built eight million houses for homeless rural and urban folks. Many Malaysians living in rural areas and urban poor today still do not have a proper house to live in.
- It provides one-year free broadband internet for 150 million households. A decent broadband service in Malaysia costs around RM200 per month, which would amount to roughly RM2,400 a year.
- Given that Malaysia only has a total population of around 30 million, you would be able to buy every Malaysian 2,500 packs of mixed rice per year. Since the homeless population in Malaysia is significantly smaller than that, 500 million packs of mixed rice would feed the entire homeless population for a much longer time.
- RM277 bil can buy 75,000 new cars per year for jobless Malaysians so they can be e-hailing car drivers.
- The budget for the Education Ministry is RM55 mil per year. If corruption averages RM50 bil per year, we can build 50 schools.
- RM277 bil can build a hospital of 1,000 beds costing RM1.4 bil and thus with corruption of RM50 bil on average per year, we can build 40 hospitals.
The cancer that is corruption has infected our outward patriotic Malaysians and inward devils, who are wolves in sheep clothing must be eliminated at all cost.
If Malaysia were to prosper and progress, corruption must not be allowed to rear its ugly head in the country. – May 8, 2024
K. Tamil Maran ( KT Maran)
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main pic credit: Reuters
