Posted by UMNO2SHIT > 2014-03-22 16:41 | Report Abuse

Cronyism is real but The Economist’s ranking of Malaysia a surprise

Posted on 22/03/2014 - 12:29
Cecilia Jeyanthi Victor

PETALING JAYA: It is not that Malaysia has not made any effort in the fight against corruption and cronyism. The trouble is that the fight does not seem to be making any headway.

Why is the eradication of corruption and cronyism a constant struggle for Malaysia? One answer lies in the lack of political will.

So the nation is still in the doldrums on the cronyism scale as evident from a recent report in The Economist

According to The Economist Crony Capitalism Index 2014, Malaysia came in third place for cronyism and toppling its list was Hong Kong while Russia was at number two.

The UK-based Economist reported that all three countries were in the same positions since the last study in 2007 while most countries in the Southeast Asian region including Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, fared worse in 2014.

Singapore was ranked at fifth place, the Philippines at sixth, Indonesia 10th while Thailand took the 16th spot.

Former Transparency International Malaysia president Tan Sri Dr Ramon Navaratnam described Malaysia’s position as “very surprising and disappointing”.

“I did not realise we are that bad. The Economist is a reputable publication and we cannot dismiss these findings,” he told theantdaily.

“The government should seriously examine this report, find out where cronyism is taking place and take action.

“Corruption is related to cronyism which is bad. All these can be mitigated by the findings as the long-term sustainability of Malaysia’s economic development can be seriously jeopardised by cronyism and corruption,” he warned.

Navaratnam also said that “money politics” was the mother of all problems and those in power must have the political will to fight the scourge.

The Economist further reported that the uncontrolled habit of rent-seeking this century allows billionaires that are politically well connected to double their wealth and this posed a threat to the free market.