Refleksi : Problemnya sama dengan di NKRI
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\12\story_12-12-2010_pg3_2
Sunday, December 12, 2010
ANALYSIS: Corruption-free society? -Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi
The major problem in the political domain is that the people in power no
longer make a distinction between their official/public and private/personal
domains. They have a tendency to use official resources and facilities for
their personal and private affairs
Everybody complains about corruption and wants to eliminate it. They key
question is, why can corruption not be eliminated if everybody favours it? The
answer is simple. Every individual wants others to be fully honest but does not
want to change their own habits. The emphasis is on delivering sermons to
others or demanding strict action against others rather than dispassionately
examining the causes of corruption and starting with self-rectification.
The demand for elimination of corruption has become a political and
social weapon, which the competing interests use against each other. The
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), especially the Sharif brothers, have
declared a crusade against corruption but its sole target is the Pakistan
People's Party (PPP)-led federal government, especially President Asif Ali
Zardari, who are described as the main source of corruption.
The PPP has initiated a similar campaign against the PML-N led coalition
government in Punjab - the PPP is part of this government - because it is said
to be engaged in corruption and misuse of state resources. There were charges
of corruption and partisan use of state power and resources against both the
PPP and the PML-N governments during 1988-1999. The accountability process
initiated by the second Nawaz Sharif government and the Musharraf government
was politically motivated.
Corruption is deep rooted in Pakistan's state system and society. Its
sources are political, bureaucratic and societal. All governments use state
patronage and resources to attain their political considerations. What matters
most is the extent and method of its employment. Coalition governments rely
heavily on distributing cabinet positions, jobs with perks, and other rewards
for keeping the coalition partner in good humour. Pakistan's current federal
cabinet has too many ministers, ministers of state and advisors. There are
others who enjoy the status of federal minister or minister of state. The same
can be said about the provincial governments where some members of the cabinet
do not have any specific department to head. This is done to satisfy different
political groups and interests.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) got the chairmanship of the Council
Of Islamic Ideology (CII) in addition to some cabinet position, including the
position of the federal minister for tourism that has been given to the brother
of the leader of the JUI who himself is the chairman of the parliamentary
Kashmir Committee, whose role in promoting the cause of Kashmir is dubious. The
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) extracts dividends with reference to its
political interests in urban Sindh.
Jobs and material rewards are offered to loyalists and sycophants in
order to sustain support. The principle of merit and professionalism is often
neglected while rewarding political workers. As a matter of fact most senior
workers expect some material gains after the party assumes power. Similarly,
parliamentarians build pressure on the government for jobs and material rewards
for the people of their constituencies. They also expect the government to
appoint local administrators in consultation with them so that they continue to
use the local administration to their political advantage.
The major problem in the political domain is that the people in power no
longer make a distinction between their official/public and private/personal
domains. They have a tendency to use official resources and facilities for
their personal and private affairs. For example, the use of official transport
for personal and family use is a common practice. Personal and family visits to
other cities are shown as official visits to cover the expenses. If a political
leader is accused of corruption he would describe it as a politically motivated
move and use his political links to neutralise the charges.
The bureaucratic sources of corruption are complex official procedures
that are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, exceedingly slow
procedures and non-accessibility of the relevant officials. It is often
difficult for ordinary people to get their due right in routine. Rather, one
needs a contact, blessings of some influential people, or has to pay money for
getting a routine job done.
The bureaucrats, more than the political leaders, exploit their official
positions or links to enhance their perks, make money by using their
discretionary powers and use official facilities for their private affairs. The
corruption of the bureaucrats is more difficult to detect. That is the reason
that a military-dominated government gets away with corruption. They often
legalise what would normally be viewed as corruption.
Societal sources refer to the corruption and use of unfair practices by
non-officials in day-to-day affairs. Individuals like shopkeepers, business
people and others providing services to others, engage in corrupt practices of
all kinds. The common corrupt practices include food adulteration, spurious
medicines, fake documents and degrees, dishonesty in quality, quantity and
weight of sold goods, not fully honouring business commitments on time and
bribing officials to cover up illegal practices or use of public property for
personal advantage.
In Pakistan, corruption and deceit starts at the level of common people
and goes up to the high corridors of political and bureaucratic power.
Therefore, it cannot be controlled, not to speak of elimination, in a short
span of time. Nor should one expect that the leaders of today would be the
replica of the rulers of the earliest days of Islam. If society is so corrupt,
the leaders cannot be angels. Forget about the ideal notion of puritanical
honesty.
Do recognise human failings as well as the inability of the state to
ensure minimum guarantees for reasonable living to the people.
The immediate target should be improvement of the situation by balancing
the pressures and problems of the people with the imperatives of a
corruption-free society. The beginning has to be made at the individual level,
i.e. honesty and fair play in personal and professional life, rather than
giving sermons to others on these issues. Use the power of the 'vote' to reject
the known corrupt and dishonest people. Electoral accountability has more
enduring impact than anything else.
The existing accountability processes should be strengthened and made
more nonpartisan and transparent. Like the parliamentarians, all civil and
military officials should publicly declare their assets. The media and the
education system should emphasise the values of honesty, fair play and
socio-economic justice.
Corruption cannot be controlled through the present-day partisan and
propagandist approach of the political parties. They need to work together for
evolving credible and all-embracing strategies rather than using the demand for
promoting honesty and fair play as an instrument in their power struggle,
protecting allies and engaging in negative campaigns against their political
adversaries.
The writer is a political and defence analyst
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