SINGAPOREANS and Malaysians love to take friendly jibes at each other. They range from who has the better food (Malaysia definitely) to who has the superior public transportation system (Singapore hands down).
Often, we treat such comparisons as fun sibling rivalry due to our shared history and take the insults in our strides.
But the latest news about Singapore Transport Minister S. Iswaran resigning after being charged with 27 counts of bribery yesterday (Jan 18) has made comparison between both countries both a laughable and sad undertaking for Malaysians.
It is laughable because Iswaran was charged with receiving inducements amounting to more than S$384,000 (RM1.35 mil) from Singapore-based Malaysian hotelier-cum-billionaire Datuk Ong Beng Seng.
They comprised flight tickets and hotel accommodation worth S$20,848 (RM73,160), F1 tickets valued at S$347,152 (RM1.22 mil) as well as tickets for musicals and football matches valued at S$16,341 (RM57,350). There were no records of cash changing hands.
For Malaysians who are used to seeing grand larceny to the tune of billions of ringgit such as the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) scandal, Iswaran’s charges are nothing short of laughable. Some may even feel that if he had been a Malaysian politician, he would not be “corrupt enough”.
But on the other hand, Iswaran’s case is a sad indictment of the current state of affairs in this country. It is cases like Iswaran’s that we realise how desensitised we now are to corruption and wrongdoings in the public sphere.
We forget that any form or amount of corruption is not only criminal but chips away at the very foundations which this resource-rich country is built on.
The truth is that over the years, Malaysians have come to accept corruption as a way of life. Almost six years after the corrupt Barisan Nasional (BN) regime fell in the 2018 general election, we are hardly any closer to stamping out graft.
On the contrary, a Deputy Prime Minister was given a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) for a clutch of corruption charges last year despite the prosecutors having established a prima facie case during the trial.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s (generally) incorruptible leaders have put in place a development framework which has zero tolerance for corruption that helps draw foreign investors and boosts efficiency, thus allowing the country to leapfrog to be a global economic powerhouse.
As some of us privately snigger at Iswaran’s fate, it is the Singaporeans who are having the last laugh as they see kleptocrats and tainted politicians continue walking our corridors of power or remain free. – Jan 19, 2024
Main pic, video and infographic credit: CNA
