MALAYSIANS must persevere in their fight for a corruption-free country, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.
 
Citing Brazil and South Korea as examples, the Pakatan Harapan chairman said their citizens took to the streets to protest against corrupt politicians and did not relent until they stepped down.
 
“We are not asking the people to be violent, we are asking for their support (to remove a kleptocrat),” Dr Mahathir said in an FB Live session on Wawasan 2020 and corruption this afternoon.

He was commenting on the general reluctance of Malaysians to openly show dissatisfaction with the government.

“The people who believe that the current leaders are not fit (to lead) and not good for the country must show how much they support the efforts to remove the government,” said Dr Mahathir during the 40-minute Q&A session.

Otherwise, he said, the opposition would fail in its bid to take over the government and implement change to eliminate corruption.

When asked why corruption still persists when there are already national institutions to curb it, the 92-year-old Pakatan Harapan chairman put it down to lack of political will to fight the menace.

“The answer is simple. When the leaders themselves are involved in corruption, they would not be very interested in combating corruption among his subordinates and others.

“For example those who offer money to voters (in return) for support, that’s a form of corruption,” he said.

Reports must be lodged against such leaders so that action can be taken against them, he added.

However, corrupted leaders who can block such legal actions against them will walk free, said Dr Mahathir.

He slammed such leaders for having no sense of shame: “They can still smile.”

Comparing corruption to the crime of killing, Dr Mahathir said people should refrain from it because they know it is wrong.

“We don’t kill because we know it’s wrong, not because we’re afraid of being watched. So we won’t kill even when nobody is watching us.

“If in our hearts, killing is a despicable act, we will not do it, then it’s the same with corruption,” he said.

The former prime minister was also asked about his take on education, affirmative action and press freedom during the session. – October 16, 2017.