上周，前首相慕尤丁因涉及新冠疫情期间政府直颁合同的数宗贪腐罪名，而遭逮捕的新闻，成了主要焦点。
慕尤丁和来自土团党与伊党的同志谴责这些指控是政治迫害，旨在为将到来的6州选举前摧毁反对派。
除了在野党支持者外，一些民众和非政府组织也表示担心，这是自第14届大选后，激烈的政治斗争和权力争夺，而导致的选择性起诉案件。
有关人士应该知道，基于政治动机的选择性起诉，自我国独立以来就存在的常态。即使有人强烈怀疑慕尤丁的案件是出于政治动机，但这不应该做为阻止对类似案件的调查和司法程序的理由，就像涉及团结政府领导人的类似腐败案件一样。
而且，正如巴西古当国会议员哈山卡林所指，现任反贪会主席阿占巴基和总检察长依德鲁斯哈仑是慕尤丁任相时受委，因此这对慕尤丁和国盟党派来说，不应是问题。
现在以200万令吉保释金保释在外的慕尤丁，其被捕时机并不令人惊讶。在希盟赢得第15届大选并上台后不久，首相安华便下令对价值数十亿令吉的政府项目进行检讨，安华曾指慕尤丁政府在没有经过适当程序下进行这些项目。
自此，在社交媒体上我们可看到安华在许多公开场合承诺，将毫无畏惧地追究贪腐和其他治理不善问题。他曾强调：“我们将坚持最高的道德标准，团结政府不允许权力滥用。 即使您是‘敦’或‘丹斯里’，任何违规行为都会受到严厉追究。”
潘多拉文件
更早之前，与类似事态发展有关的——虽然没有像慕尤丁被控新闻那样受到关注——即国会上揭露的，当局正在调查揭秘文件“潘多拉文件”中涉及马来西亚人的离岸资产，以了解他们的财富来源以及是否是非法从公共资源中获得的，这是令人期待的。
根据法律和体制改革部长拿督斯里阿莎丽娜的说法，潘多拉文件提及的一些人名，之前曾担任政府职务，因此当局正在展开调查。
“这揭秘文件表明了，一些被指拥有可疑巨额财产者，需向公众作出解释。人民需要知道那些（在文件中）被点名的人是如何获得或积累他们据说存放在海外的巨额财富。”
无论如何，对潘多拉文件所揭露的盗取公款和非法聚敛财富的调查，或许只是揭发了马来西亚非法聚敛财富现象的冰山一角。
自安华上台以来，我们看到政府提出了各种经济改革政策。然而，即使实施了这些改革政策及相关计划，也无法解决国家的经济问题。这是因为提倡的政策只是治标不治本，并没有解决国家经济结构扭曲的根源或根本原因。
这样的结构是如何形成的？其有什么特点？新经济政策的执行，如何导致这样的局面？
我们又要怎样扭转或纠正这样的结构，使我们拥有一个真正转型的经济体系？财富如何积累和集中的过程，无疑对一个经济体的健康或停滞增长起著关键作用。
财富累积
首先，我们需认识到，任何国家（包括马来西亚）的财富，都是由个人或企业所从事可带来利润的经济活动所创造的。这种财富的创造大部份是合法的。这是基于劳动产生的回报，在社会和道德上是受认可的。这也是来自个人或企业承受的风险，来自个人或企业提供的产品和服务的效用和优越性。
个人通过合法途径产生和积累的财富，符合合法规范，不仅是可取的，也对社会和经济有好处。
但是，那些通过不正当或非法手段，创造或积累、无法解释的财富呢？这难道是小问题还是非问题，我们是否像之前政府那样忽略它？
由安华领导的现任政府是否会，并且能够不偏不倚办理社会上一些人士异常无法解释的财富，或者这最终会在“马来西亚能”精神下“一切照常”？ 慕尤丁的案件是否是首相所承诺对腐败和滥用权力“零容忍”政策的开始？
林德宜《开启反腐行动》原文：Let the Anti Corruption Games Begin
The last week has been dominated by the story of former PM Muhyiddin Yassin’s arrest in connection with multiple counts of corruption related to directly-negotiated government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Muhyiddin and colleagues from Bersatu and PAS have condemned the charges as a political witch hunt aimed at destroying the opposition ahead of the coming state elections.
Apart from the opposition party supporters, some members of the public and NGOs have expressed concern that this is a case of selective prosecution arising from the intense political rivalry rocking the nation since GE14 and the battle for power.
Those concerned should be aware that selective politically motivated prosecution has been the norm since independence. Even if there are strong suspicions that the case against Muhyiddin is politically motivated, this should not prevent the investigations and eventual court process from going forward as is happening with the similar corruption cases involving the Pakatan unity government leaders.
And, as noted by Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim, the current MACC chief Azam Baki and Attorney-General Idrus Harun were both appointed to their positions under the Muhyiddin Yassin administration so this should be of some comfort to Muhyiddin and the Perikatan parties.
Prime Minister Anwar’s Promise
The timing of the arrest of Muhyiddin who is now out on a RM2 million bail (apparently through the generosity of his friends) should not be surprising. Soon after Pakatan’s election win and his coming to office, PM Anwar ordered a review of government projects, worth billions of Malaysian ringgit, which he said the Muhyiddin government undertook without going through the proper processes.
Since then Anwar on numerous public occasions widely captured over social media has promised that he will tackle corruption and other misgovernance without fear or favour. He has stressed
“We will uphold the highest ethical standards and there will be no room for abuse of power under this administration. Any breaches will be severely dealt with even if you’re a ‘Tun’ or ‘Tan Sri’.
Earlier related to these developments - though receiving less attention than this current hot story - is the revelation in Parliament that the authorities are probing into the offshore assets of Malaysians implicated in the Pandora Papers on the source of their wealth and whether they may have been illegally obtained from public funds is welcome and overdue.
According to Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, investigations are being initiated taking into account the fact that some of the names mentioned had previously held government positions.
“These revelations show how important it is to explain to the public the suspicious wealth of certain individuals. The rakyat needs to know how those named (in the document) obtained or accumulated their tremendous wealth which are said to be stowed offshore.”
Why Confine Investigation to Pandora Papers
Confining the investigation to swindling of public funds and illegal accumulation of wealth identified by the Pandora Papers may just be exploring the tip of the iceberg of the larger phenomenon of illegal wealth accumulation in Malaysia.
Since coming to power, we have seen the government broach various economic reform policies. Even if these reform policies and their attendant programmes are implemented they will not be able to resolve the country’s economic problems. This is because the policies advocated are merely palliative. They do not address the root or fundamental cause of the structural deformation of the country’s economy.
How has this deformation come about? What are its characteristics? How did the New Economic Policy implementation contribute?
And what can be done to bring about a reversal or correction of the deformation so that we have a really transformed economic system? The process of wealth accumulation and concentration is one which undoubtedly plays a key role in an economy's healthy or stunted growth.
For a start we need to recognize that wealth in any country – and this includes Malaysia – is created by economic activity engaged in by individuals or enterprises that bring profit to the entrepreneur. Much of this wealth creation is legitimate. It is based on reward arising from work and is socially and ethically acceptable. It comes from risk-taking and from the utility and superiority of the products and services provided by the individual or enterprise.
Wealth generated and accumulated by individuals through legitimate means and conforming to the norms of legality is not only desirable. It is also beneficial to society and the economy.
But what about wealth that is created or amassed by illegitimate or illegal means and is unexplained? Is it a minor or non-issue and do we just ignore it as is the case with past governments?
Will and can the present government led by Anwar tackle extraordinary unexplained wealth without “fear or favour” or will this end up as “business as usual” in Malaysia Boleh? Will this case against Muhyiddin be the start of the “zero tolerance” policy against corruption and abuse of power promised by the Prime Minister?
