The G25 says political lobbyists are the real “movers and shakers” of corruption, not non-Muslims.
The eminent Malaysian group said that PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang attempted to blame non-Muslims for corruption, reflecting his lack of knowledge of the root causes.
The G25 noted that the leaders of the divisional party of the political party in power are often on the front lines of high-level corruption.
Abdul Hadi should have also mentioned how the money is used to make political lobbying attractive to party officials, adding that there is no racial divide between givers and takers in corruption.
“And the best lobbyists are those who are family, friends and relatives of those in power,” it said in a statement on Monday (August 22).
The G25 said Abdul Hadi’s remarks ignored the fact that frontliners lobbying for business owners were members of the party in power at the federal or state level.
“Lobbyists go for what can offer them the best deal, such as a breakthrough fee or partnership in a non-Malay company.
“So it is not right to blame non-Malays as the big players in corruption scandals because, as the saying goes, it takes two to tango,” he said.
The G25 said Abdul Hadi, who believes his party should be in power in Putrajaya, is being irresponsible to members of his own party for turning corruption into a racial issue because it does not go down well with voters. Will sit
The G25 said his statement created a crisis among non-Muslims as scapegoats for institutional vulnerabilities, making it possible for corruption to spread like a cancer.
A more responsible approach is to take a non-racial approach, recognizing the truth, whether in Malaysia or any other country in the world, that corruption tends to rear its ugly head when the bureaucracy becomes too difficult to function, G25 said.
“In Malaysia, renewal of permits, licences, visas and passports took an entire morning and sometimes a whole day.
“In such a situation, there is a strong tendency for those running their business to use tricks or ‘duet copy’ (coffee money) to get faster service so applicants can get back to work,” G25 said.
It said that while the problem of petty corruption at government office counters has reduced due to greater administrative efficiency due to adoption of technology, corruption at higher levels is increasing at an alarming rate.
Some authors on the Malaysian political economy refer to lobbyists as “fare collectors”, the G25 said.
“They do no real work other than to be paid by their business principles to knock on ministers’ doors and make introductions,” the G25 said.
It added that foreign investors who are not familiar with Malaysian politics and the local decision-making process also use lobbyists for their high-level contacts.
Foreigners know that in order to obtain government business, like in Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) contracts, they have to do what is necessary from lobbyists, including offering incentives to open doors for their customers at a higher level, the G25 said. .
“With so many ‘rent collectors’ paying, the cost of corruption makes government spending unnecessarily high.
G25 said, “This ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine’ syndrome applies to all races because money knows no race.”
It said that as the political leader of the party controlling Kelantan, Abdul Hadi should have been aware of the syndrome, because when illegal felling of the state’s forest reserves became a public issue, people were skeptical. that bribery and corruption were behind the destruction of natural resources. ,
“Cross-border smuggling also occurs on the Thai border, which raises questions about whether PAS leaders are tolerating corruption,” the G25 said.