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