Are our political parties really interested in fighting corruption?

There was a very real danger of public faith in the judicial system in the country being compromised

Connections between powerful politicians and  underworld figures involved in drug dealing abound in our country. We well remember how a one-time president helicoptered to the home of a regional politician in a show of support when that worthy’s home was being raided by law enforcement officials on drugs-related charges.

Last week,  the country was rocked when news that a one-time Justice Minister’s son,  and another politician from an Opposition party was also arrested on a drugs related charge.

It is heartening, to say the least,   that political party took a bold decision to suspend the member who was charged with grievous corruption. If ignored, there was a very real danger of public faith in the judicial system in the country being compromised. 

We are referring to the immediate public action taken by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) against one of its members who has been charged with attempting to thwart the course of justice for financial gain.

We do not know whether the member is guilty or not, as charged. But the action taken by the political party suggests the party concerned wanted to distance itself from persons charged with corrupt practice – a welcome change which breeds belief that corruption will not be tolerated in at least one or more of our political parties.

Lee Kwan Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister, made fighting corruption his primary goal. No one however powerful or politically connected was spared. The Singaporean Premier viewed corruption as a “cancer” and argued a nation needed to eliminate corruption if a country were to survive and progress.

When a member of his Cabinet –the Minister for National Development -- was investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) for accepting over $1 million in bribes, Lee did not support his colleague. Rather he allowed the trial to proceed. While the trial was in progress, the minister committed suicide. Lee said the Minister was a personal friend, but did not interfere. 

It is in this light that we need to raise the question -- are our political leaders really interested in fighting corruption? Last week as mentioned earlier, two powerful figures were arrested on corruption charges. The SJB suspended the party membership of one of the accused. Unfortunately, several parliamentarians are attempting to divert attention away from the need to take forward the anti-corruption programme by raising extraneous affairs.

One of the more common charges made by these politicians has been the false claim made by the first ‘Hon. Speaker’ of the present regime. He made false claims regarding his educational qualifications. He was forced to resign, but the government has made no move to take action against him.
There is however, a big difference between false claims regarding educational qualifications, and misusing political power and affiliations to subvert justice. The aforementioned ‘Hon. Speaker’ spread falsehoods regarding his educational qualifications. In common parlance he ‘told lies’. 

This ‘crime’ of telling lies should not be compared to taking into custody, persons allegedly responsible for far greater crimes.  Not to take away from the shameful lie told by that particular speaker, all of our parliamentarians often tell lies. One of our past premiers, during the run-up to a particular general election, promised to bring rice from the moon to meet local shortages of that staple.

Another leader promised to make our country the ‘Wonder of Asia’ – but the corrupt practices of that era led the country into bankruptcy instead. Similarly, politicians all over the world tell lies. If all politicians were to be prosecuted and sentenced for ‘telling lies’, none of our representatives would be in parliament today, irrespective of the political party they belong to.

The drug menace in this country needs to be eradicated. The Minister responsible for Women’s Affairs just days ago informed us that every one in fifty people in our country has been using drugs. We believe she was referring to the use of narcotic drugs. 

This is a serious charge and we need to do our best to change this situation.

Let us join hands, and leave aside our political differences to eradicate the menace of narcotics  in the country which  will make our land a den of drug addicts and condemn the future of our children.