NUMEROUS efforts have been made to fight corruption since the emergence of the Scorpene submarine purchase and the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal more than a decade ago.

And while these efforts have culminated in policy changes, Malaysia’s position in Transparency International Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index continues to decline.

From a low of 51 and 53 points in 2020 and 2019 respectively, Malaysia scored only 48 last year, causing the country to drop five ranks to 62 out of 180 countries.

So how is that possible?

One reason, said Rasuah Busters chief executive Nurhayati Nordin, is that policy changes alone do not necessarily translate into behavioural changes.

“We need to re-evaluate our values in Malaysia and at Rasuah Busters, we believe there needs to be greater understanding among the masses,” said Nurhayati at her office in Kumpulan Media Karangkraf in Shah Alam.

“Only with good understanding will it translate into action.”

Nurhayati, who gave up a career in law to take on this role, said people on the ground need to understand why corruption is unhealthy and unproductive for change to happen.

“There have been many changes in laws and policies, but as long as the grassroots don’t get on board, it will be hard to wipe out corruption,” she said.

“We need to tackle this from the values perspective, rather than just the legal aspect.”

Citing the recent case of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki’s share ownership in public-listed companies, Nurhayati said: “Legally, he may not be wrong, but is that ethical?”

She said there are many forms of corruption and Rasuah Busters aims to create awareness of these different forms of graft.

“It’s not just money. There can be positions, favouritism, nepotism and so on. And we need to recognise these different aspects to fight corruption effectively,” she said.

Bottom-up approach

Prior to the emergence of Rasuah Busters, much of Malaysia’s anti-graft activism was urban-centric and revolved around improving anti-graft policies.

And while Nurhayati believes that is important, it needs a groundswell to win the battle against corruption.

“Policy work is important and our friends in TI-M (Transparency International), C4 (Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism), IDEAS and so on have done a very good job in pushing for the anti-party hopping law and reforming MACC,” she said.

“In this aspect, we try to complement them by grouping more than 500 other organisations in a coalition to fight corruption.

“But while that is happening on one front, we must also go to the ground.”

And one of the differences between Rasuah Busters and other civil society groups is its ability to reach out to Malaysians living in the rural areas.

Rasuah Busters, established last year, is the brainchild of Karangkraf owner and Sinar Harian publisher Hussamuddin Yaacub.

Using the Karangkraf platform, Rasuah Busters is able to disseminate its message to the Malay and rural market through regular columns.

“While we organise forums in the city, we also run convoys to the villages to explain the fight against corruption,” said Nurhayati, who is a mother of six.

“In the villages, for instance, we get the chiefs to bring people from various other villages to listen to our talks.

“There, we explain how corruption affects their daily lives as in how the money that has been taken away could have been used for better educational and medical facilities and infrastructure development.”

She said many in the rural areas do not see how corruption indirectly affects them.

“Some think that their ‘cables’ (or personal connections) will save them. But corruption really hampers their ability for social mobility,” said the 47-year-old.

Apart from rural engagements, Rasuah Busters is also targeting university students, schools and even Friday sermons.

Besides talks, it also plans to run school competitions.

“So far, Perak, Selangor, Sarawak and Perlis have signed on. And with that, we include anti-corruption messages in the Friday sermons,” said Nurhayati.

“Through these different methods, we hope to inculcate a sense of right and wrong.”

And while the December floods have affected many people, Nurhayati said some have begun to understand the connection between local council issues and “not so natural” disasters.

“We explain that while the floods were due to heavy rainfall, poor rubbish collection and over-development that has affected forests and rivers made the floods worse,” she said.

“And this is something many people can understand.”

She said there is still a long way to go before Malaysia can win the fight against corruption.

“But by changing values, we hope the tolerance for corruption will lessen,” she added. – April 26, 2022.