Raja Nazrin: Those With Shady Past Shouldn't Be Leaders

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- Those with a chequered past or clear evidence of questionable morality should be prevented from taking office, Perak Raja Muda Raja Nazrin Shah said Tuesday.
He said this was integral to good governance, one of the three major themes of the works of the late Prof Syed Hussein Alatas, a renowned sociologist and intellectual.
"Figures in authority must be chosen for their integrity first and qualifications second," he said during his inaugural lecture to commemorate the legacy of Prof Syed Hussein Alatas entitled "Towards a Decent Social Order for All Malaysians", at the Islamic Arts Museum here, Tuesday.
He said the battle against corruption had always been top priority for Prof Syed Hussein, who published four books on the topic from as early as 1968.
Also present was his wife, Raja Puan Besar Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim, Albukhary Foundation executive vice-chairman Datuk Ismail Yusof and Syed Hussain's son, associate prof Syed Farid Alatas.
Raja Nazrin said corruption was mankind's most deadly social disease, as it could undermine good governance, weaken institutional foundations, distort public policy, compromise the rule of law and constrain the economy.
He said corruption curbed competitiveness to the detriment of economic and social development, led to tremendous misallocation of resources, and made the cost of doing business become unacceptably high.
"Corruption exists because of man's enduring desire for personal gain.
"Once corruption becomes widespread, it will no longer seem immoral and unlawful - just business as usual," he said.
He said there must be concrete anti-corruption measures and management practices based on efficiency, transparency and accountability.
Unnecessary or complex regulations and licensing requirements should be discarded or simplified to discourage `under-the-table' deals, he said.
He said the mobilisation of public opinion was also an integral part of good governance as Syed Hussein placed great store in the power of public outrage.
Raja Nazrin said Prof Syed Hussein believed that if society's consciousness was awakened to the ills of corruption and gave its cases widespread publicity, it would generate such adverse reaction that the government would be forced to take action.
"Complaints and protests may be irksome, but they should be treated as welcome and constructive feedback," he said.
The lecture, attended by some 300 participants, was the first of the Albukhary Foundation Lecture Series.
Its objective was to perpetuate the need for open discussion and communication of social issues that Malaysians commonly face.
Prof Syed Hussein, who died on Jan 27 this year at the age of 79, was well-known for his considerable legacy of books, notably "The Myth of the Lazy Native."

tunku : very well said by a "true prince".leaders should be judge on their integrity first then education.if we apply these,insyaallah we will be in safe hands that runs our country.i welcome the suggestion of mobilizing public opinion. it's a very important thing to do nowadays as we can let few people to decide for the whole nation.by doing so we will know whether it's accepted or not by the nation.take example the bridge(jambatan bengkok) saga, the government said that the public opposed it but i have not seen any.