Get serious about graft

Get serious about graft

Prompt action, not empty rhetoric, is the best way to combat
an economic crisis. We have heard the rhetoric; now we must see
the action. This, in effect, was the message delivered yesterday
by International Monetary Fund (IMF) director Michel Camdessus to
the economic decision-makers of Southeast Asia.

There is nothing wrong with Camdessus' reasoning. He believes
those slumping economies will recover provided national leaders
carry out thorough reforms.

That is a very big "if", because there is no sign that the
political leaders in some of those countries are really prepared
to take the necessary tough measures.

In Thailand, for example, the real problem is getting corrupt
politicians out of the economy. The country's new premier, Chuan
Leekpai, has stressed that he views economic recovery as a top
priority and is willing to take the necessary tough measures to
achieve it.

No one doubts Chuan's good intentions. The question is: will
he be able to carry out those intentions? The trouble is that
there are still too many people on the Thai political scene who
do not appear to have the same concern for the national interest.
A similar situation exists in Indonesia and, to a lesser extent,
Malaysia and the Philippines. The trouble is that the
relationship between politicians, political parties and big
business is deeply enmeshed.

New thinking is needed by the leaders of these countries
before they can take the initiatives needed to put their
economies on the road to recovery. There must be fundamental
changes in outlook and in the way these economies are run. There
must also be an acceptance that corruption has no place in the
scheme of thing.

-- Hong Kong Standard