MEDIA STATEMENT
A SCAR ON THE NATION IS A SCAR ON THE PEOPLE
The world celebrates Anti Corruption Day around the world on 9 December.
THE CENTER TO COMBAT CORRUPTION & CRONYISM (C4 CENTER)’s acknowledges this day with this poignant message:
A SCAR ON THE NATION IS A SCAR ON THE PEOPLE!
We are gravely and deeply troubled.
The steep rollback in government accountability and respect for the rule of law, the last 12 months has been daunting to our nation and its people.
The nation is in crisis, and revelations around the grand kleptocracy of 1MDB just wont stop.
Rather it gets more bizzare and complex with more facts exposed – through lawsuits and court trials, that billions of public funds have been siphoned.
And this has hurt us - Malaysians.
Regrettably, Malaysia has chosen to close, deny, pretend and worse, viciously retaliate against dissenters and critics who have raised their views courageously.
So that is why today has never been more pertinent to recognise, given the scale of Malaysia’s pervasisve and endemic corruption. Yet the forums and events held to commemorte this day here in Kuala Lumpur, all seem so limp, feeble, surreal, and lacked courage to speak the truth of where we are heading as a nation.
It is no secret that the last 2 years have seen integrity and good governance sink to the bottom. Civic participation, the work of civil societies and the independence of democractic institutions have all come under severe beating.
The corruption scandal of PM Najib Razak has driven a major trust deficit amonng Malaysians, while rising prices of goods, subsidy cuts and the implementation of the GST has hurt us to unprecedented levels .
C4 Center gravely reminds the Malaysian Government to:
1. Quit the harrassment of civil society
2. Respect the freedom of the people to express, and do not lose sight of the pulse of the people
3. As signatories of the UN Anti Corruption Convention (UNCAC), we remind the Malaysian government to adhere to the tenets of the convention, and respect international obligations to fight corruption at every level. Do not block requests for the MLA as requested by MACC and the Swiss Authorities.
4. Review with urgency civil society proposals to strengthen the independence of the MACC, including lifting it to a constitutional commission, and review laws needed to fight corruption more effectively.
There must be political will to make changes, lest we get changed
- “ TO OPPOSE CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT IS THE HIGHEST OBLIGATION OF PATRIOTISM
Released By
Cynthia Gabriel
Founding Director
Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4)
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