LETTER: While all anti-graft fighters and reformers remember and celebrate the UN International Anti-corruption Day on Dec 9 this year, I would like to take this opportunity to applaud Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed for his years of excellent service and unimpeachable contributions to our country and extend a heartfelt congratulations on his retirement.
Abu Kassim is someone I have known since his first secondment to Amanah Raya Berhad. His second secondment was as Chief Consultant at the Centre for Governance and Integrity, MARA University of Technology (UiTM).
A Social Science graduate from University Science of Malaysia and having a Masters in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University, USA, he has 32 years of experience as an anti-corruption practitioner, with more than 6 years as the Chief Commissioner at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and recently retired as the Director General at the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-corruption (GIACC).
He has put in not only endless and boundless energy but also walked an extra mile to tackle and fight corruption both domestically and internationally. He is, indeed, our towering Malaysian.
But fighting corruption is not just a one-man job and responsibility. Individuals, communities, private organisations, intergovernmental organisations, civil societies and even some governments must come forward to curb, curtail and combat corruption or at least try to prevent it.
We should have put our Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan or ISO 37001:2016 Anti-bribery Management System (ABMS) in place to detect, prevent and respond to bribery and corruption. The ISO 37001:2016 ABMS has received worldwide attention and is generating a lot of interest among industry actors and players.
In the event of corporate liability investigation, the implementation of ABMS helps commercial organisations demonstrate that reasonable steps or 'adequate procedures' have been put in place to prevent potential bribery and corruption risks. These 'steps and procedures' are already having a mitigating effect in some countries and jurisdictions.
At the recent 19th International Anti-Corruption Conference 2020 attended by some 7,400 participants from 182 countries and territories over 6 days (Nov 30-Dec 5, 2020) via Zoom webinar, ISO 37001:2016 ABMS was mentioned many times over.
Corruption is not only cancerous, but it is also unethical, immoral, and illegal in many creeds, communities, cultures, civilisations and countries. As Transparency International has put it, corruption is an abuse of entrusted power for personal or private gain.
But corruption really hurts people, economies and governments. Corruption is widely understood as a phenomenon in totality. It raises serious social, moral, economic, and political concerns, undermines good governance, hinders development, and distorts competition.
In addition, corruption is not only negatively impacting human rights but also forcefully compacting a gigantic threat to our five Ps (people, planet, peace, prosperity, and partnerships).
And to stop it, we must try to understand what the basic and fundamental cause of corruption is. The causes of corruption are broad based ranging from basic individual level of petty bribe to large scale grand corruption.
Corruption occurs everywhere but more frequently in places where anti-corruption prevention measures are either weak or non-existent and there is absence of oversight or coherent strategies. Corruption is not only driven by poor moral and ethical norms but lack of political will, weak governance and institutional mechanisms to support and impose a policy of zero tolerance of corruption.
Greed, manifest corrupt culture in society, lack of access to information and freedom of expression, and incompetence of personnel are some of the factors that cause or facilitate corruption.
Corruption is not just financial figures, but it can also be about the unequal distribution of rights. Every human being has the right to speak, right to participate, the right to proper living, the right to education, and the right to respect and to be respected. Corruption impacts these rights of autonomy, independence, and strengthening of speaking up to fight corruption.
One that sums it all, corruption is caused by lack of governance, integrity, accountability and transparency (GIAT). These elements are indeed the essential ingredients for tackling and fighting corruption.
Let's do something more meaningful for the International Anti-Corruption Day 2020 on Dec 9th, towards a corruption free society, with these five steps:
(a) Educate the public about the government's responsibilities to be corruption-free;
(b) Equal and fair justice for all is a crucial element for Malaysia's stability and growth;
(c) Ensuring that future generations of citizens are brought up in a corruption-free environment;
(d) Foster economic stability by enforcing zero tolerance practices towards corruption; and
(e) Develop a transparent, open and fair business community as the cornerstone of strong corporate governance and democracy.
DR KM LOI
President, Association of ABMS Practitioners Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
