Brokers in the goverment

Lets define what is this animal "broker". In the old days, brokers are considered great cheaters because, they get a certain percentage out of a transaction. You talk to a broker about lands available he will sweet talk you and bring you to a point, about land A is available this much, and land B is available too that much. The figure you hear is definitely higher than what he will talk to the landowners. The difference is his.

Present day, brokers are highly sought after. Their skills are tremendous. Some are decent and honourable. Some cheat along the way, selling fake land titles. Banting murders highlighted the dark side of land dealings.

There are brokers too in the government set-up. Haven't you heard names you got to know to secure contracts or jobs. Call it kaki or what, they invariably perform their job well, with skills they had mastered over the years.

For that reason, the government had imposed a ruling, a person should not stay on certain critical post for more than five years, especially in areas where budget, contract, procurement is the core activity.

Generally brokers are alright. They are honest, but sad, some go overboard!.... It is fair to push them to the sea. Let them cry for help. I know a guy who need such treatment!!

WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Corruption, when did Obama know it.

To ask a person what is corruption to her/him is going to be interesting. Lets share with Malaysiakini what is corruption to Obama as he plans to hit the ground on economic recovery.

• Obama's ambitious plan to boost economic recovery from Malaysiakini
• Dec 22, 08 11:11am
• He plans to hit the ground running when he takes office on Jan 20, with his economic team already drawing up a huge stimulus package to bring before Congress.

The soon to be release of a report on the contacts that President-elect Barack Obama or any of his staff members may have had with scandal-plagued Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will likely quiet the rumors and gossip about Obama and the governor. That's because Obama will release the report and it would defy credulity to think that he would release a report that showed anything inappropriate or worse in whatever dealings he had with the governor.

This is probably not a case of a politician circling the wagon and sanitizing a report to avoid scandal. The FBI wiretap transcripts at least the ones that have been reported don't show that the president-elect did anything that could even be remotely construed as an attempt to cut any deals or influence peddle with the governor over his senate seat.

Yet, there are still some nagging questions that the report will attempt to answer. And those answers may not be the right answers. The one obvious question is the known and acknowledged contact that Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had with Blago. There's only the faintest hint that Emanuel may have lobbied Blago to appoint a key Obama staffer to the senate seat. An informant claims the motive in making the contact supposedly was to eliminate her as a potential rival for Obama's ear in the White House. We only have the informant's word for that and since this person is unnamed and given that Blago's credibility is zilch the hint of an impropriety in the contact isn't likely to go much further than that. The report will likely say that.

However, the fact is that Emanuel did talk with Blago about the appointment, innocent or not, and this raises this question," Was this his idea, or did he do it with a wink and a nod from Obama? That raises yet another question. That is whether Obama knew or didn't know about his talk with Blago. Even if he didn't, why did Emanuel talk with Blago about it or any other matter that even remotely could have dredged up questions about Obama's involvement in a matter that presumably had nothing to do with him.

That's not all. When the allegation first broke that Blago demanded a payment for the seat from Jesse Jackson, Jr. Obama issued a categorical denial that no one on his staff had anything to do with the Jackson flap, or had any dealings at all with Blago about the seat. This obviously was not exactly the case, or was it? It's another loose end question dangling. The FBI wiretap transcripts when fully made public can and probably will shed much more light on the Emanuel-Blago tie.

The Blago-Emanuel and by extension Obama connect in itself would normally be little more than a pinprick distraction except for the long history of corrupt Chicago style wheeling and dealing. During the campaign Obama took occasional hits for his alleged dubious dealings with convicted financier Tony Rezko. There was no proof of any wrongdoing in those dealings. But it did toss an ugly glare on corruption in Chicago politics and how some Chicago politicians aren't averse to trading favors, legal or otherwise, for gain. However, trading favors may be fine for some in Chicago since it's widely assumed that that's the way business is done in some political circles there anyway. But that style would and should have no place in an Obama White House.

Now that raises yet another question. Can Emanuel assure that he and other Obama staff members will play it by the book when it comes to doing business in the White House? That's not a small question. Obama's major election appeal was that he promised to be a politician of a different sort. Millions who backed him took that to mean that transparency will be the watchword in an Obama White House and that the back room conniving, special interest influence peddling, deal making MO of his predecessors will be a thing of the past. Obama needs to reassure that indeed that will be the case. This makes the question what did he know and when did he know it more than a passing academic question.

What Did Obama Know, And When Did He Know it?
Huffington Post, NY

ALONG THE WATCHTOWER: RASUAH or CORRUPTION

ALONG THE WATCHTOWER WITH M.VEERA PANDIYAN

Whether it is duit kopi or commissions and brokerage fees, graft has thrived for too long. The corrupt must be reeled in and made to pay the price.

THE Spanish describe it as mordida (small bite), to Italians, it’s tangente (slice); Arabs ask for baksheesh (tip) and Russians bluntly call it vzyatka (bribe).

Over here we have many names for it – from the condoning duit kopi (coffee money) to the contemptous makan suap (being fed).

In the good old days when much shame was still attached to bribery, it used to be called tumbuk rusuk (punching the ribs).

These days, people brazenly ask for duit minyak (petrol money), wang pelincir (lubrication money) or use euphemisms like commissions, brokerage fees, lobbying fees and political fund contributions.

The official word for it in Bahasa Malaysia is rasuah, borrowed from the Arabic rashwah (bribe) although fassad would be the most literal translation of the word corruption used in the context of good governance.

Perhaps, it is time that wasta, another Arabic word, should come into Bahasa Malaysia. It is a term used to describe nepotism, something this country is familiar with.

Wasta, in its basic form, means using a common connection to get undue benefits and gains. Perhaps the word swasta (privatise) could get a whole new sub-meaning out of this.

The cancer of corruption, which can be traced to the earliest days of mankind, is broadly defined as misuse of public authority for personal or group profit.

In Malaysia, it has thrived for too long because the laws are not strictly enforced and there is a lack of integrity in existing administrative systems, the watchdog agencies included.

Malaysia’s current Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is 5.1, and the country ranks 47th out of 180 countries, a position no different from last year. This compares with a CPI of 4.9, and 36th out of 91 countries in 2001. Transparency International, which tabulates the index, evaluates countries on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean).

It is not just about reeling in corrupt politicians and other big fish snapping up huge commissions and kickbacks at the expense of taxpayers.

Those getting their palms greased for approvals, or for looking the other way, and those who demand petty sums to move files have been given too much leeway and must be made to pay the price.

As such, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill passed in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday should be looked at as a monumental step towards an independent, transparent and accountable anti-graft agency.

With five bodies supervising it – the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board, the Special Com­mittee on Corruption, Operations Review Panel, Corruption Prevention and Consultative Panel and Complaints Committee – the MACC will definitely be more autonomous.

Members of these bodies will be selected from among prominent Malaysians and representatives of NGOs and civil society organisations, and be assisted by ex-officio officers drawn from the commission.

The seven-man advisory board will comprise individuals appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister – and both government and opposition MPs will be on the Special Committee.

In a stroke, the ACA has also been armed with more powers, including acting against close relatives of the corrupt.

Under the newly-defined rules, family members of those caught for graft will be extended to mean spouses, children, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces and also in-laws. All stand to face the same punishment as the culprit.

The penalties will be harsher, too. Under amended provisions in Clauses 23 and 36 of the Bill, offenders can be jailed for up to 20 years or fined five times the monetary value of the bribe or a minimum of RM10,000, whichever is the higher.

For any action against corruption to succeed, the people’s participation is crucial. Citizens and ethical officials in the public and private sectors must be motivated and protected before they can be expected to report any form of wrongdoing.

There have been too many cases of whistle-blowers being put in danger or being faced with legal prosecution.

So, it is indeed timely that the Witness Protection Bill has also been tabled in Parlia- ment, making it the fourth major law to be introduced over the past two weeks after the MACC, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Judicial Ethics Committee.

Under the provisions of the new law, whistle-blowers and key witnesses will be protected, given compensation, new employment and even a change of identity, if necessary.

It is a welcome change to see such sound efforts to ensure accountability being moved in Parliament as the year winds to a close amid a global economic crisis.

Better transparency and accountability will certainly help the country abate the expected fallout and weather the storm.

Associate Editor M. Veera Pandiyan likes to share ancient Roman poet Ovid’s observation: All things may corrupt when minds are prone to evil.

The net to arrest corruption widens
Malaysia Star, Malaysia - 17 Dec 2008

Pak Lah: MACC Will Spare No Corrupt Officials

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi believes that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will be able to play its anticipated role of wiping out corruption and effectively overcoming the deep-rooted culture of money politics. [Pak Lah: MACC Will Spare No Corrupt Officials Sin Chew Jit Poh, Malaysia]

beritadarigunung: If anybody really understand about business, then corruption is nothing more than a business marketing venture ...... even vultures will fly low when carcass is around.

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Money politics "mother of Malaysia corruption"

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia is setting up a new anti-corruption body to fight worsening graft, but it faces a daunting task in challenging a deeply embedded culture of "money politics," a leading anti-graft campaigner said.

The government introduced a long-delayed anti-corruption bill to parliament last week, which aims to set up an independent anti-corruption body.

The long-awaited bill may not be perfect, but is a significant step forward, and could be improved upon in the future, said Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International (TI) Malaysia.

"If they go hard against money politics, which to me is the mother of all corruption, you kill the whole damn corruption," the straight-talking retired finance ministry official told Reuters in an interview.

Malaysia's system of political patronage, in which well-connected tycoons are favoured for state contracts, has long been viewed as a breeding ground for corruption.

Malaysia ranked 47th out of 180 nations on TI's 2008 Corruption Perception Index, slipping from 43 in 2007. Neighboring Singapore was fourth on the list.

One problem Navaratnam sees with the anti-corruption bill is the stiff 10-year jail-term and 100,000 ringgit fine ($27,500) for false reporting of corruption cases. That might provide enough comfort for politicians to pass the bill, but he says those stiff penalties would deter whistle-blowers.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, trying to leave a legacy of reform before retiring in March, wants to turn the existing Anti-Corruption Agency from a politicized body under his department into an independent one, modeled along a much-admired commission in Hong Kong.

This has many of Abdullah's colleagues in the ruling United Malays National Organization worried, especially following allegations of rampant vote-buying aired in the press in the run-up to pivotal party elections next March.

Abdullah's predecessor and now his fiercest critic, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, recently lamented that UMNO, in power since independence in 1957, risked losing the next general elections if it failed to eradicate money politics.

Abdullah's UMNO-led ruling coalition suffered a huge setback in general elections last March, losing its crucial two-thirds majority in parliament and five of 13 state governments.

CRONY CAPITALISM

Weeding out corruption is more onerous than in neighboring countries, because rewarding supporters is so embedded in the political system, Navaratnam said.

For decades, the government has handed out contracts to Malay businessmen in order to redistribute wealth, under an affirmative action policy aimed at helping the economically backward ethnic Malays who form 60 percent of the country's 27 million people.

The policy has more often than not led to abuse, and the consensus among analysts, diplomats and businessmen is that "crony capitalism" is so engrained it will take a herculean effort to dismantle. Continued...

M'sia harmed by corruption

MALAYSIA'S reputation for being ridden by corruption is harming the country's prospects, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Wednesday as a new anti-graft body was tabled in parliament.

Mr Abdullah also tabled legislation that will appoint a nine-member panel to advise the premier on the selection of judges, in a bid to address criticism that the judiciary is corrupt and incompetent.

'It will give a level of confidence in these institutions, higher than before, and negative perceptions will hopefully be reduced as much as we can,' Mr Abdullah said of the two proposals.

'We have to deal with the perception by businesses and industry that corruption here is king, and the judiciary is unsatisfactory and is not credible as all of this will affect our competitiveness,' he told reporters.

The Anti-Corruption Agency which is being replaced has been criticised as toothless, and the new version is being promoted as having more independence and greater accountability.

However, activists say that the new commission should be also given the power to prosecute corrupt activities, currently the responsibility of the government.

Mr Abdullah has been forced to agree to stand down in March and hand over to his deputy Najib Razak, after the government was punished in general elections this year over his failure to introduce promised reforms.

The premier came to power in 2003 with grand plans to revamp the police and the justice system, and root out corruption from the ruling party, but his failure to act earned him a rebuke at the March polls.

The Barisan Nasional coalition which has dominated Malaysian politics for half a century lost control of five states and a third of parliamentary seats in its worst-ever electoral performance. -- AFP

M'sia harmed by corruption
Straits Times, Singapore

Malaysia on CORRUPTION

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