‘Najib’s jailing clear message to corrupt politicians’

PETALING JAYA: The jailing of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak is a clear message that the nation has had enough of corrupt politicians and wants strong and capable leaders who will put the country first before themselves.

Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said passing the Political Funding Bill as soon as possible is critical to stamp out corruption among politicians as it will make the source of political funding and its usage clear, so that self-serving politicians will not be able to pocket the money.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had earlier said the Bill was in the pipeline and that the government was working to get it tabled during the Parliament session in October.

“Tuesday was a very important day as the Federal Court sent former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to jail for 12 years for corruption. This would have sent shivers down the spines of all corrupt politicians.

“Although voters have a chance to boot out self-serving politicians in the 15th general election (GE15), they have also been reminded that no politician is above the law. If they fail to vote out such politicians, then there will be corrupt ones facing the brunt of the law if they are caught.”

He said the media should also play an important role in informing the public about politicians who are mired in corruption, adding that this will allow voters to make an informed decision as to who to cast their ballots for.

According to Azmi, political parties have been putting their agendas ahead of national and public interests for a long time.

“With Najib’s jailing, the parties have become aware of the backlash they could face if they put the country second.”

Meanwhile, National Council of Professors senior fellow Dr Jeniri Amir said voters have an opportunity in GE15 to cast their votes for politicians who are credible and have integrity. Hence, voters will only have themselves to blame if they continue to support corrupt politicians.

He stressed that it is of paramount importance that national leaders have strong integrity and credibility. Voters should know by now who are the self-serving politicians who only put their interests before that of the people. He said such politicians will only cause chaos and create political instability, which would hurt the country and create a negative impression of the nation.

“Today, voters can see the national damage that the self-serving political class have caused through corruption and abuse of power. Other countries have a negative perception of Malaysia because of corruption and ‘frog’ politicians.

“Voters are partly to be blamed for this state of affairs because they continue to elect such leaders.”

Jeniri said politicians who hunger for power and position must be rejected as they would otherwise destroy the nation.

He added that corruption was not a new issue and began as the country moved up the development scale, and politicians and other greedy people wanted a slice of the huge amount of funds being spent to achieve that.

“Corruption has not only cost the country billions of ringgit but also created a bad impression among foreign investors and leaders.

“If the people fail to vote in leaders with integrity, the country will continue to go down the drain.”

Jeniri said there is a need for the Political Funding Bill to be passed to address corruption as politicians can always claim the money they received was for political funding, although it went into their own pockets.

He added that GE14 had served as a warning to political parties that voters will no longer tolerate corruption among them.

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