At the top right hand corner of Sakmongkol’s blog, is a video clip of the hilarious banter between Badan and Nyawa. Both are thieves. It is taken from the film Nujum Pak Belalang. Or written as a tongue in cheek, the two characters can easily be Badanwi and Nyawajib.
The clip encapsulates what Sakmongkol thinks of what those in power are currently doing. Its kleptocracy in action. The Merriam-webster definition of a kleptocracy is : a government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed. A government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves.(dictionary com) A government characterized by rampant greed and corruption. (American heritage dictionary).
In 2006, the white house released the following statement about kleptocracy.
For too long, the culture of corruption has undercut development and good governance and bred criminality and mistrust around the world. High-level corruption by senior government officials, or kleptocracy, is a grave and corrosive abuse of power and represents the most invidious type of public corruption. It threatens our national interest and violates our values. It impedes our efforts to promote freedom and democracy, end poverty, and combat international crime and terrorism. Kleptocracy is an obstacle to democratic progress, undermines faith in government institutions, and steals prosperity from the people. Promoting transparent, accountable governance is a critical component of our freedom agenda.
Our objective is to defeat high-level public corruption in all its forms and to deny corrupt officials access to the international financial system as a means of defrauding their people and hiding their ill-gotten gains. Given the nature of our open, accessible international financial system, our success in fighting kleptocracy will depend upon the participation and accountability of our partner nations, the international financial community, and regional and multilateral development institutions. Together, we can confront kleptocracy and help create the conditions necessary for people everywhere to enjoy the full benefits of honest, just, and accountable governance.
Salam, Tuan & Eid Al Mubarak.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being kind to post the definition of 'kleptocracy'.
I think that the root of corruption is personal greed. It's just too bad that greed is the built-in feature of the human being. However, it's the magnitude or the degree of greed, given the circumstances that makes us corrupt or otherwise. The government can be a corrupt one because it is made - by majority - of people who are greedy. It is unfortunate that we don't have people like the prophets who run the country. Is being pious good enough to become good rulers? I personally don't think so.
People all over are talking about curbing corruption. Bravo. Is the increase in the number of arrests by the ACA a strong indication that corruption is being curbed? Will that mellow down the greed within us? How can we arrest the personal greed problem, then? Could it be that many politicians started off being caring about the welfare of the general public and as they move upwards in their political career, they're exposed to all kinds of sweet temptations at their built-in greed?
Is there a government out there which isn't corrupt? Since there's no news on corruption by this government whatsoever, hence we can presume that that government is corruption-free?
I heard that the Singaporean ministers are very highly paid in order for them not to succumb to corruption. Will that keep their personal greed in check?
Wallahu 'Alam.
Best regards.