Political and Business Corruption

By: Erica McCauley

This article pertains to a lot of our readings in Beyond the Veneer. With political corruption as a main concern in Malaysia, there is a new finding that a lot of corruption stems from relationships between businesses and politics. In this article, reporter LIM SUE GOAN, describes the corruption as a "revolving door between civil service and private sectors." In 2008, the Corruption Perception index ranked Malaysia 42 out 180 countries on the list of corrupt countries. Side by side this statistic, the Index claimed that 42% of Malaysians believe that most of its corruption comes from political government corruption. However, with examples such as Port Klang Free Zone Project, it is clear that business is corrupt. Malaysia has a history of having elite businessmen running companies. These business men also prove to have heavy political backgrounds. How is this possible? It is possible through strong connections between government officials and these "business men". Many of these ideals stemmed from the "joint company" idea, that was heavily encouraged during the Mahatir Mohammad era. Many politicians of this time worked closely with entrepreneurs to gain political status. It is up to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to take action to resolve this clearly evident corruption that is growing within Malaysia.