In explaining China’s ascendancy in the last decade, I said that in addition to investments in infrastructure, technology and a focus on communitarian development, a key factor was the hard-nosed fight against corruption, which included the state empowering the public to report on corrupt officials even via WeChat.

I also pointed out that the punishment was most severe for senior officials, especially ministers, and that it includes the death penalty.

During the Q&A, I was asked a question about what lessons Malaysia could learn from China. I said there are many, but we are unlikely to learn them given our dysfunctional and rent-seeking political system. I added that if there is one that we should focus on, it would be to get tough on corruption, especially with senior officials. I refrained from advocating capital punishment.

There was, as is common in Malaysia, a hush amongst elites when one openly addresses what so many say aloud in private. I have lost count of the number of taxi drivers from the airport who are victims of the scam system operating there and who have asked me about Chinese methods to fight corruption.

When informed, they tell me they would like to see these same harsh methods used in Malaysia.

In answering the question at the talk, I said these measures would dramatically change the fortunes of the country, and this is obvious if we look at the results in Singapore, where per capita GDP is more than six times ours. Yes, Singapore is small and may not be the best comparison, but our per capita GDP is roughly level with China’s, a country of 1.4 billion people.

If we had the same tough stance, I believe our GDP might well double, and there would be scores in jail for white-collar crime, especially politicians and people from within the government. Few, if any, discharges not amounting to an acquittal (DNAAs) would be issued.

Coincidentally, I also found myself last week speaking to two groups of foreigners, mostly Europeans, and I said that the tough anti-corruption stance in China was a major factor in its ascendancy. I also mentioned Singapore and its former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s tough position from the early days. In this video, he recounts how a minister under investigation for corruption took his own life.

In Korea and Japan, many politicians and business leaders resigned or even took their own lives when exposed, given the shame they felt they brought on the nation and their families. It is an expectation of the society. It has cultural roots which seem to be totally absent amongst our political elite.

The reasons for this will make for very uncomfortable reading for our elite political leaders. A respected Malay Islamic scholar, M Kamal Hassan, sets them out in “Corruption and Hypocrisy in Malay Muslim Politics: The Urgency of Moral-Ethical Transformation”, which argues that Malay political culture itself has become corrupt.

RedRaven6070 : UMNO’s oldest political weapon is fear: when scrutiny gets too close, bring out race, religion and royalty. After decades of 3R politics, some have been conditioned to defend the powerful before questioning where the money came from — until corruption can be dressed up as “rezeki” and accountability portrayed as an attack on the race. 

Then comes the convenient religious argument: that corruption, as a specific offence, is not explicitly classified as haram under Shariah law. That does not mean Islam permits corruption; Islamic teachings also prohibit bribery, fraud, betrayal of trust and unjustly taking wealth. 

But politically, the message is chillingly simple: when the money trail becomes embarrassing, change the subject from accountability to race, religion and royalty — and suddenly the accused becomes the victim.