First point to make is that the ethnic Malays in position of power aren't the only ones who are corrupt, as is often claimed. Malaysia's ethnic Chinese aren't that far behind, whose patrons are often the Malay power elite. So who's greasing whose palms? It works both ways. Both sides get what they want, but all this amounts to corruption, whichever way you care to slice and dice it. Within the Chinese "community" corruption is an everyday affair that works through their channels called "kongsi". The kongsi is essentially a network of Chinese businesses who lend/borrow money to their members at often astronomical interest rates (or risk losing a finger, ear, limb or life), whilst operating on the pretence of catering to the Chinese "community". It's all a front.
Second point: It's not at all surprising if Lim Guan Eng has been ensnared in corruption (notwithstanding his "heroism" in Malacca which brought him political kudos from mainly the ethnic Chinese voters). But it has, suffice to say, allowed Lim the space to purchase a great deal of arrogance or self-importance. This is especially true when the DAP and Pakatan won the 2018 election over Umno. As disgusting as it'd looked, from day one, Lim wasted no time aggrandising himself to the vile Malay feudal lord Mahathir Mohamad. Body language said a lot: Lim would be seen either whispering in Mahathir's ear in almost every photo opportunity or be seated to Mahathir's immediate right on stage and at press conferences. At any rate, it is utterly correct that Lim be re-investigated for alleged corruption in various seismic scandals involving Penang's infrastructure projects, including his curious purchase of the bungalow there at a hefty discount. What is clear, at least to me, is Chinese would never give up fifty cents for anything or anyone unless the return is stupendously greater and if it can be "legitimised". In this case, the stench of corruption reeked like a kampong squat-toilet. And the "new" Penang chief minister's single-mindedness on various environmentally disastrous infrastructure projects are highly opaque and would demand public and anti-corruption scrutiny.
Therein lies the problem. Third: The MACC is barely independent of the reins of political power in Malaysia. It's also mired in various corruption scandals of its officials. This include the MACC's director general Azam Baki, who was exonerated by his political backers and, fantastically, cleared himself of several allegations of corruption. In fact, fair to say, there is no institution in Malaysia that can be definitively said to be independent of politics or political power.
If the Malay regime is run along feudal lines, so is the DAP and its dynastic political hierarchy. As for the Indians: time somebody had a good hard "inside" look at them too and their links to their Malay patrons in positions of "high power".
It's always amazing that Malaysians, uch as Dennis Ignatius, decry corruption in their country as destroying the place. It's already long destroyed. Corruption has been going on since before 1957 and since then. Only it has been ramped up because, like the police, majorly manned by Malays of little education and principles, there isn't a single institution in Malaysia in which a politician of tremendous power and influence hasn't got his or her mitts in their pockets. The same used to be said of Malaysia's judiciary. The conviction and jailing of Najib Razak is said by "locals" to show the judiciary has turned around. Nonsense. Wait till Umno gets full control of the country's politics and throttles all political opposition to its rule, including, I dare say, any elements of the judiciary who might think they are free of political strangulation by Putrajaya. And it's called Putrajaya for good reason.
First point to make is that the ethnic Malays in position of power aren't the only ones who are corrupt, as is often claimed. Malaysia's ethnic Chinese aren't that far behind, whose patrons are often the Malay power elite. So who's greasing whose palms? It works both ways. Both sides get what they want, but all this amounts to corruption, whichever way you care to slice and dice it. Within the Chinese "community" corruption is an everyday affair that works through their channels called "kongsi". The kongsi is essentially a network of Chinese businesses who lend/borrow money to their members at often astronomical interest rates (or risk losing a finger, ear, limb or life), whilst operating on the pretence of catering to the Chinese "community". It's all a front.
Second point: It's not at all surprising if Lim Guan Eng has been ensnared in corruption (notwithstanding his "heroism" in Malacca which brought him political kudos from mainly the ethnic Chinese voters). But it has, suffice to say, allowed Lim the space to purchase a great deal of arrogance or self-importance. This is especially true when the DAP and Pakatan won the 2018 election over Umno. As disgusting as it'd looked, from day one, Lim wasted no time aggrandising himself to the vile Malay feudal lord Mahathir Mohamad. Body language said a lot: Lim would be seen either whispering in Mahathir's ear in almost every photo opportunity or be seated to Mahathir's immediate right on stage and at press conferences. At any rate, it is utterly correct that Lim be re-investigated for alleged corruption in various seismic scandals involving Penang's infrastructure projects, including his curious purchase of the bungalow there at a hefty discount. What is clear, at least to me, is Chinese would never give up fifty cents for anything or anyone unless the return is stupendously greater and if it can be "legitimised". In this case, the stench of corruption reeked like a kampong squat-toilet. And the "new" Penang chief minister's single-mindedness on various environmentally disastrous infrastructure projects are highly opaque and would demand public and anti-corruption scrutiny.
Therein lies the problem. Third: The MACC is barely independent of the reins of political power in Malaysia. It's also mired in various corruption scandals of its officials. This include the MACC's director general Azam Baki, who was exonerated by his political backers and, fantastically, cleared himself of several allegations of corruption. In fact, fair to say, there is no institution in Malaysia that can be definitively said to be independent of politics or political power.
If the Malay regime is run along feudal lines, so is the DAP and its dynastic political hierarchy. As for the Indians: time somebody had a good hard "inside" look at them too and their links to their Malay patrons in positions of "high power".
It's always amazing that Malaysians, uch as Dennis Ignatius, decry corruption in their country as destroying the place. It's already long destroyed. Corruption has been going on since before 1957 and since then. Only it has been ramped up because, like the police, majorly manned by Malays of little education and principles, there isn't a single institution in Malaysia in which a politician of tremendous power and influence hasn't got his or her mitts in their pockets. The same used to be said of Malaysia's judiciary. The conviction and jailing of Najib Razak is said by "locals" to show the judiciary has turned around. Nonsense. Wait till Umno gets full control of the country's politics and throttles all political opposition to its rule, including, I dare say, any elements of the judiciary who might think they are free of political strangulation by Putrajaya. And it's called Putrajaya for good reason.