Bapa borek, anak rintik! - Teenagers willing to take bribes?

He he he.

Were you startled to read that Malaysian teenagers (are) willing to take bribes?

Me, nope. I was laughing my a*s off!

The Malay saying 'Bapa borek, anak rintik' is very apt for this case. Maybe 'leadership by example' is appropriate as well?

Corrupt practice by people in power is perceived to be rampant by the general public, and since current morality is judged according to standard practice of the day, this trend will not go away.

Until and unless the perception is cleared and all the rumoured individuals are cleared/charged accordingly, the problem will persist, and the country will indeed stays as un-developed as the other non-developed nations, with corruption being part and parcel of the game of the rulers!

Another checking mechanism is good religious background, but then again, being pious will not bring food home!

The Star Online > Nation

Friday July 1, 2005
Teenagers willing to take bribes
BY AUDREY EDWARDS

PETALING JAYA: Hundreds of thousands of Malaysian school leavers are willing to accept bribes if they have the power and the opportunity to do so.

According to a 2002 survey of the public’s perception of corruption by the Malaysian Integrity Institute (IIM), 30% of the students sampled said they would take bribes.

This shocking discovery was presented by IIM president Datuk Dr Sulaiman Mahbob at a briefing to the country’s top leaders and civil servants on Wednesday.

“It is a sub-sample. But we are concerned,” he said when contacted yesterday.

“They are post-Form Five students and represent a small percentage of the sample. It is not widespread. It’s just 2.4% of the population,” he said, downplaying the findings.

However, 2.4% of the country’s 26.1 million population represents an eye-popping 625,400 young people, many of whom have entered or will enter the country’s workforce.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, ministers, deputy ministers, government officials and representatives from other sectors were at Wednesday’s closed-door briefing.

Dr Sulaiman said IIM was working with institutions of higher learning to help increase awareness on work ethics.

“It will take some time to change several factors but I am optimistic we can check the problem,” he added.

Overall, the nationwide survey of 8,000 people showed that 86.8% of respondents did not agree that bribery would make it easier to acquire something, while 85.1% had no experience in receiving or giving bribes.


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