IF the latest statistics from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on corruption are anything to go by, there is every reason for Malaysians to be concerned about the country’s future.

This is especially so with regard to good governance and professionalism among the younger generation.

According to its Deputy Chief Commissioner (Prevention) Shamshun Baharin Mohd Jamil, MACC had detained 2,740 people under 40, of the total 5,186 arrests made from 2014 until last month. That’s about 47.2% of the total arrests.

It is already bad enough to have corruption spread like cancer, eating into the moral fabric of our society; it is even worse when the scourge inflicts Malaysians at a young age.

The young clearly represent the future of our country that requires men and women of high calibre and integrity to excel in various fields and sectors for the overall progress of Malaysia.

What is equally troubling is that out of the total number of people arrested, 2,428 or 46.8% were civil servants, which pose serious implications on the legitimacy of the government.

At a time when the young in other parts of the world have been encouraged to use their skills and knowledge to develop initiatives in the fight against corruption, it is alarming that there are young people in this country who apparently are inclined to imbibe values harmful to the principles of good governance and the economy.

The young, it appears, have acquired the bad practices of possibly their superiors whose corrupt ways have become a norm and perilously towards contagious.

This is certainly not the kind of work ethics and ethos that the young people ought to internalise. An idealism to work for a better world would be a better option for them.

It is, therefore, incumbent upon top government officials to provide good leadership by example for their subordinates to emulate.

Abuse of power, embezzlement and criminal breach of trust, which have been linked to the leadership in the previous government, are certainly misdeeds that should be avoided by civil servants as they can bring about damaging leakages to the nation’s coffers, as well as an inefficient allocation of resources.

There are, of course, other causes of corruption, aside from the young mimicking the wayward behaviour of corrupt elders.

For one, the materialistic and acquisitive nature of the modern society spurs certain people to acquire material things in the shortest way possible.

Perhaps it has got to do with the way we define success and happiness these days, which often has a more materialistic emphasis.

Given the gravity of the problem, there seems to be a dire need for the young to be exposed to education on the dangers of corruption that can, among other things, reduce the effectiveness of public investments and the infrastructure of the country.

This is apart from having stricter laws and several mechanisms for checks and balances against corruption.

Religion ought to be able to play a role, as is the case in other countries, in exhorting believers to avoid corrupt practices in their workplaces and elsewhere.

However, it doesn’t look like religion has gained much traction in Malaysia when it comes to discouraging certain adherents from reaching for the till.

One wonders what happened after decades of supposedly injecting Islamic values into the administration, which does not seem to adequately succeed to steer Muslims, who make up the majority in the civil service, away from corrupt practices.

The path to the country’s future must not be trodden by the corrupt. – December 19, 2019.