IT is safe to assume that any Malaysian who has not been hiding inside a cave would have heard anecdotes of money changing hands by way of bribes paid to tide over kinks with officialdom.
That is why a minister's outburst recently over a "culture of corruption" in a department resonated with sections of the public.
But, some have taken to criticising the minister, suggesting his behaviour to be "unbecoming" of a cabinet member.
The cabinet is a collegial body which can only be fully effective if individual members act out of belief in the idea of collective responsibility.
Conversely, if individual ministers chose to publicly air serious grievances against the very government for which they are an integral part of, mayhem and serious dysfunction may follow.
The federal bureaucracy is a vital cog in the delivery of public services and in implementing government policies. The cabinet lies at the apex of governmental administration.
Its members are, therefore, in a most privileged position and individually or collectively hold the keys to moulding the bureaucracy.
An individual minister will, of course, be ultimately responsible for the conduct of the bureaucracy under his own portfolio.
If any minister feels strongly about some matters outside the purview of his or her own ministry and believes that the appropriate action required is still lacking despite bringing such matters up at cabinet meetings, the honourable thing for such a minister to do would be to resign.
He would then be free to air his grievances publicly. It is vital that solidarity in the sitting government is fostered and preserved at all costs.
Individual political leaders and members of the cabinet cannot be unaware that they are all in it together. Political freelancing cannot be tolerated.
There is much to be said for letting any government formed to be allowed to last the duration of a normal parliamentary term before judgement is made on it.
What no government deserves – especially during current fraught circumstances – is to have individual government leaders sow discord.
The writer views developments in the nation, region and wider world from his vantage point in Kuching
