The honest politician, an oxymoron

With so many being charged with corruption and fraud around the world, the term ‘honest politician’ does seem like an oxymoron. But we need clean leaders if we are to survive in a difficult global economy.

CAN there ever be such a thing as an honest politician? Can these two words even be in the same sentence?

It just doesn’t seem likely, what with every other politician, their wives, children and in-laws being caught up in corruption scandals.

Take former United States president Donald Trump. He is facing really stormy days. He has been hauled to court and indicted on 34 counts of fraud.

And like so many politicians, he has already bandied the “politically-motivated prosecution” card.

Still, it’s going to be interesting, what with a porn star and a Playboy model in the mix.

Trump is not the first president to be in trouble; there was Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal and Bill Clinton and the woman “he never had sex with”.

But Trump trumps them both; he’s got both elements of cheating and sex in his case. The hearing could be quite salacious.

Barack Obama has also been dragged into a scandal that’s closer to home, with fugitive financier Jho Low of 1MDB fame accused of trying to finance the former president in his campaign.

To paraphrase Spidey, with big positions, come big temptations. And it’s everywhere.

India is said to be a country with lots of corruption too. There was the Bofors Scandal, where a US$1.4bil deal with a Swedish arms manufacturer allegedly saw huge kickbacks.

And it even had its own Scorpene scam, where US$175mil was allegedly paid to government decision makers by Thales, which also sold submarines to Malaysia.

And what of our own country?

We too had our Scorpene scam, with tentacles that ended in the death of a Mongolian beauty.

Now that the mandatory death penalty has been pretty much abolished, there is even talk that Sirul Azhar Umar, the man convicted of killing her, could be brought back from Australia to “spill the beans on some politicians”.

Then, there is Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who has just failed to get a review of his conviction and sentence in the RM42mil SRC case. He stays in jail.

Another former prime minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, is facing money-laundering charges while former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng is in court over allegations of wrongdoings over the state’s undersea tunnel project.

But let’s not tar everyone. There are honest politicians. Or at least there have been – even among US presidents.

Abraham Lincoln was not called “Honest Abe” for nothing. He was reputed to be an incredibly honest lawyer and was even described by his opponents as the “very soul of integrity”.

Some claim Jimmy Carter was honest too, but that led to him being termed a weak president.

He refused to go to war even after being told it would help his re-election campaign.

There have been some squeaky-clean politicians in India too.

I have just learnt of P. Kakkan who was Home Minister and in charge of police in the late 1950s.

He lived a life of simplicity and never put himself above others. Once, he missed the train and chose to sleep on a bench at the station.

When the cops came to shoo him away, they were shocked to see the minister there.

They invited him into the station for more comfortable quarters, but he refused the special privilege and insisted on sleeping on the bench.

The cops stood guard all night until the next train came along in the morning. The man bought a ticket and sat with the common folk.

Then, there was Goan chief minister and India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. He was also simplicity personified. He wore short-sleeved shirts and sandals, even to Parliament, used to ride around Goa on a scooter and drank tea at roadside stalls with no security.

Once, he was hit from behind by a car. The driver stepped out and proclaimed: “Do you know who I am? I am the son of the commissioner.”

Parrikar replied: “Tell your father you met the chief minister of Goa.” The lad slinked away.

It reminds me of our own Tok Guru Nik Aziz who was famous for living a simple life without seeking wealth and being one of the common folk.

Of course, he is now a forgotten man even in his party, where the line between bribery and charity has been blurred. Even his portrait was missing at their last muktamar in 2022.

Then, there was Tunku Abdul Rahman, who believed in integrity and would not spend a sen of public funds for himself. Not that he could, even if he had wanted to.

The other honest guy, finance minister Tun Tan Siew Sin, would have said no.

But that’s in the distant past. Our recent past has seen too many leaders becoming millionaires, or even billionaires. The temptation of dipping into the public kitty has just been too hard to resist.

However, we cannot brook these people any more.

The world is changing. Turbulent times are ahead.

The US is up against a “Brics wall”, and the battle is not going to be pretty.

The petrodollar is not well, leaving the US on slippery ground. And the once undisputed superpower is not likely to let it happen without a fight.

Malaysia, a small country caught between juggernauts, needs to be cautious. While treading cautiously, corruption is a scourge we cannot afford.

In China, corruption is punishable by death. In Singapore, the penalties are heavy, with long jail terms even for bribery cases involving fairly small sums.

No surprise then that China is fast becoming the world’s No 1 economy, and Singapore is already a developed country.

Malaysia, meanwhile, has a long way to go to catch up. But we may be getting there.

The Prime Minister says he is now on a campaign against corruption. Those who thrive on commissions are being put out of commission.

It’s encouraging, considering that we cannot afford leakages when billions are coming into the country.

Let’s just hope the crackdown will help bring a new breed of clean politicians.

A few people being thrown behind bars might just hasten such a shift.

But to be honest, I will not be holding my breath.