NOW we know why corruption refuses to go away. Heads of department (HODs) in government agencies are slow to act against their officers.
That is being generous to the HODs. Most are ignoring reports of misconduct against their officers submitted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), some forwarded to them as long ago as 12 years, MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki told this newspaper yesterday.
To be exact, 553 reports of misconduct are gathering dust due to HODs' inaction. And the addressee agencies read like the "Who's Who Directory" in public service: the Prime Minister's Office, the courts, the police, Road Transport Department, religious authorities, hospitals, health departments and universities. MACC's chief commissioner is exasperated. Rightly so, we must say. The chief secretary to the government should be infuriated into action. No HOD should be spared.
Let's be clear. Malaysians do not tolerate such dithering in the public service, especially when it comes to wrongdoings that drain national resources. Only yesterday Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim lamented about leakages in the government's RM22 billion poverty eradication programme.
Stealing from the poor must go down as the most despicable act a human can engage in. Lamenting alone will not do. The entire government machinery must be as outraged as Malaysians were when we learned about the magnitude of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd corruption scandal from the global media.
We were so outraged that we voted the government out of power. But elections come only once every five years. Tackling corruption quinquennially is giving graft a permanent perch in public service. Besides, elections can only change corrupt governments, not corrupt public servants.
Like it or not, Malaysia's fight against corruption is largely a story of its politics. It was true in 1957 when we became an independent nation and it is still true 66 years hence.
Want to put up a good fight against corruption and win? Here are two words that will do that: political will. We had that during Pakatan Harapan's reign after they swept to power in 2018 on its anti-corruption ticket following the 14th General Election, though it wasn't exactly the "without-fear-or-favour" kind as Malaysians expected. But at least they were two years a la difference as far as bringing down a corrupt administration was concerned.
There is a need for the same political will in the current administration. There is no denying that Anwar has started the anti-corruption fight, but there is a perception that he is either being hindered or is himself hesitant to go all out. The story of the errant HODs doesn't give the government a good perception.
True, we can't blame the 553 MACC reports that have gone ignored for years on the five-month Anwar administration. Surely, he must have been briefed by MACC, if not by the chief secretary. Now that he knows this, he must take his anti-corruption war to the HODs and the entire civil service. Some of the misconduct highlighted by the MACC reports to the HODs may not be criminal as suggested by Azam.
But that is how graft takes hold and spreads, from innocent-seeming acts. First misconduct, then misappropriation. If the HODs can exasperate MACC's chief commissioner, there must be a cause for action. The chief secretary must act before exasperation turns to outrage.