Fighting graft: Action is louder than words

Fighting graft: Action is louder than words

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad has aimed for zero
tolerance and is preparing to close the gaps in efficiency and
ethics that allow graft to slip in. Obviously, red tape and delay
in government departments are among the root causes of
corruption. The Prime Minister is getting to the nub of the
problem by his directive to ministers to set up task forces in
their ministries to tighten procedures and reduce bureaucratic
sloth.

Corrupt civil servants exploit delays to frustrate the public
into greasing their palms to speed things up. Sometimes, they are
due to cumbersome procedures that could be streamlined. For
instance, application requiring approvals from several government
departments could snarl matters enough to elicit inducements.
There should be a one-stop procedure where all approvals are
given quickly, preferably on the same day. Another opportunity
for graft occurs from the Government's increased workload, not
just from natural growth but from over-regulation. Abdullah said
that reform should begin from the district offices, whose burdens
have increased over the years. Other priorities include local
councils, the police, Immigration Department, the judiciary and
public hospitals.

On the other side of the coin, the temptation of the
businessman or citizen to pay his way through the red tape is
high. But this is morally wrong, and a criminal offence, which no
one should perpetuate. If the battle against corruption is to be
effective, all sections of society must co-operate in its
eradication. Both givers and takers deserve deterrent punishment.

The public must not feed the outstretched hands of the corrupt
civil servant, businessmen must not condone corruption by
dismissing it as an expense and honest civil servants, of which
there are many, should report any corrupt practices among their
ranks. Abdullah recognises that it will be an uphill task whose
perseverance must not be dissipated by easy expectations. At the
end of the day, results must supplant intentions and action must
speak louder than words.

-- New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur

;JP;
ANPAk..r..
Otherop-Iraq-reconstruct
Donations for reconstruction in Iraq
JP/6/OTHER

Donations for reconstruction in Iraq

The two-day donors' conference in Madrid for the
reconstruction of Iraq ended with modest offers for assisting
that war-torn country.

Some 70 countries attended the conference sponsored by the
World Bank and the United Nations, but only a handful made
sizable donations.

Many countries did not pledge more aid to Baghdad because of
their continued reservations about the U.S.-led war on Iraq and
the fact that the country still lacks security and stability.

Still, some US$35 billion were committed, to be spent over a
number of years as either direct grants or loans.

Still, no matter how vehemently opposed many countries were to
the war, there is now a new reality that requires a determined
international effort to transform Iraq from a bedrock of
instability and insecurity into the regional power that it
deserves to be.

Iraq must return to being a major player in the Middle East
and the Gulf regions. By all standards, it has the human and
natural resources to become an economic powerhouse. The sooner it
regains its rightful place among the nations of the area, the
sooner it would be possible to recreate a regional environment
for peace and progress.

Investing in Iraq now is investing in regional stability and
development.

-- The Jordan Times, Amman, Jordan