THE issue remains of corruption remains widespread, with the most worrying part being statistics that implicate the involvement of youths in corrupt practices.

According to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) statistics, civil servants in under 50 constituted 57.8% of the 5,652 people arrested for graft between 2007 and August 2022.

In fact, in 2020 alone, the MACC detained 275 people aged between 18 and 30 – comprising students in higher education and civil servants – for corruption.

Meanwhile, a 2021 study by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) on attitudes towards bribery revealed that 13.3% of the 2,254 respondents, ie students, said they had been offered a bribe.

Out of which, 2.5% or 56 of them said it was a deliberate move on their part to take the inducement. 

As such, experts are calling for tougher anti-corruption laws.

UPM Faculty of Human Ecology lecturer Assoc Prof Amini Amir Abdullah said the time has come for the government to evaluate and improve the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, particularly in terms of its penalties.

“Under the act, convicted offenders face a jail term of anywhere between 14 days and 20 years. The minimum term should be increased to two years,” he said. 

Amini added that a stiffer minimum deterrent should be put in place because, in previous cases, people convicted of corruption over millions of ringgit were sentenced to a jail term of less than a month.

“(To me) this is not fair,” he stressed.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 also provides for a maximum term of 20 years, but since the minimum term is not specified, it is left to the judge’s discretion.

The same act provides for a fine at least five times the sum of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher. Amini proposed that the minimum fine be raised to RM50,000.

Besides the above two laws, action can also be taken under the penal code. 

Associate Prof Haliza Abdul Rahman, head of the Laboratory of Youth in Leadership, Politics and Citizenship at UPM’s Institute of Social Studies, said harsher punishment is required to discourage people from giving or accepting bribes. 

She also pointed out that the same modality cannot be used for the execution of punishment for people convicted of corruption and those charged with stealing something from a supermarket.

This, she said, is because people involved in corruption come from various backgrounds and include people of higher social status. 

“(Hence) severe punishment should be meted out to those convicted of corruption to make them repent. Such a punishment is not only in line with public interest but will also cause the general public to despise such criminal acts. 

“It will also reflect the seriousness of the government in fighting corruption, as well as serve as a lesson to the people,” she said.

Studies have shown that various factors influence people, especially those wielding power, to become corrupt. One of which is the desire for a more luxurious lifestyle.

Amini said it is a materialistic attitude compelling young people to be corrupt.  

“Their (desire to lead a) luxurious life will initially cause them to rack up debts.

“When the situation worsens and they are unable to settle their debts, they will get involved in corruption. To them, bribes are a source of ‘side income’ that can help them resolve their debt issues,” he said.

He said some young people could also possibly be drawn to corruption after seeing their own superiors at work accepting bribes and not being caught by MACC, or released after being detained.

Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Centre for International Studies lecturer Prof Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said that the presence of “busybodies” can potentially prevent corrupt practices from spreading in an organisation.

“The term ‘busybody’ has a negative connotation because it refers to a person who interferes in other people’s affairs.

“(As a result of this), some employees are reluctant to report (corruption) because they are afraid of being dismissed or ostracised by their colleagues as such.

“They should, by right, know that they can be charged under section 25 of the MACC Act 2009 for failing to report corruption.

“It is better that they report the matter… because they will be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, as well as receive a reward in recognition of their efforts to uncover corruption,” he said.

Meanwhile, Amini said there is a need to improve the anti-corruption syllabus in the education system to produce a new generation of young people who possess a high level of integrity and self-identity.

He also felt that there is a need for primary and secondary schools to introduce an MACC cadet movement to expose children to the ills of corruption and enhance their integrity.

“This proposal will surely add more value to the proactive efforts taken by MACC to include an anti-corruption education element in the Year Five Bahasa Malaysia textbook effective 2021.

“To raise awareness of the dangers of being involved in corrupt practices, schools can also organise visits to prisons to view corruption convicts,” he added. – Bernama, September 28, 2022.