By TK Chua
I think both Umno and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) know corruption is now a major problem in the country. It will be a hot issue in the next general election for sure.
The recent blitz against corrupt public officials is an indication that the government wants to be seen as doing something about it.
But drawing my attention was the view expressed by am Umno Youth leader who said that “by 2050, believe it, we will have a leader who is truly of high integrity”. From now to 2050 is another 33 years.
Before this, I had never failed to hear the federal government’s desire to balance its fiscal account, except that the target set was constantly being pushed back every few years.
When we were in 2010, we proposed to balance the book by 2015. When we were in 2015, we pushed the goal to 2020.
I hope we can all catch the drift of the two scenarios I mentioned above – just to have a moving target or set ourselves a target that is ridiculous and meaningless.
The purpose was really not to achieve the target, but to placate the demand for action.
First of all, the budgetary stance (whether running a surplus or deficit) is dependent on the state of the economy, not the magical year 2015 or 2020.
Balancing the book by a certain “year” is, therefore, baloney that was being hawked around for years.
There was no concerted effort or intention to balance the books, but only a façade to give the impression that something was being done. Don’t worry; soon 2020 will be upon us and we shall see.
The same can be said of Umno Youth demanding that “we will have a leader who is truly of high integrity (but only) by 2050”?
So what happens between now and 2050?
I thought we should have a leader of full integrity yesterday or even 60 years ago when we first achieved independence.
I think sincerity and clear objectives are very important. When we lack clarity and sincerity, we can end up talking a lot of nonsense without us realising it.
Seriously, most of us have no time to wait for another 33 years. I think even Malaysia, as a nation, can’t wait that long, too. Malaysia wants a leader with integrity now, not 33 years later.
TK Chua is an FMT reader
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