National Integrity Perception Index

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I almost fell off my chair when I finished reading this news.

I just don't get it. Why these morons can live in a state of denial for such a long period of time. I did quite a number of divorce cases before. I understand that when a marriage turns sour, the couple (usually the injured party) will normally go through a period of denial. During this period, he/she will deny that his/her marriage has problem. He/she will deny that his/her spouse has problem or has cheated on him/her. It may take a few weeks to a few months before he/she could wake up to the reality and face the truth.

But, unlike the injured party who has been cheated by the husband or wife, these morons take even longer time to get out of this period of denial. I have little hope that they will ever wake up to the reality and feel the gravity. They live in their own fantasies, and in their fantasies, Malaysia is free of corruption, crime, inflation, and maybe pollution (until the morons from the EC burnt the ballot papers near the KLIA).

So, what are they denying this time?

Well, it appears that our PM, while he was still conscious, used his limited creativity (or maybe his boys from the 4th floor came out with this idea) to propose a survey called “National Integrity Perception Index Survey”. I do not know how this survey works or if it actually benefits the country, but I am pretty sure tons of money had been burnt to undertake this survey. Anyway, our government's motto has always been: “spend first, see result later; if no result; spend differently next time.”

It was reported that the survey, a mechanism to assess integrity in the local context, involving 14,967 respondents nationwide, came up with an overall score of 6.97, among which, corruption scored 6.76, social responsibility and ethical business practice 6.90, courtesy 7.07, strength of the community and family institutions 7.38, and public security and quality of life 7.41. The 3 sample groups were households (10,023 or 67%), public sector (4,031 or 26.9%) and senior officers in the private sector (913 or 6.1%).

So far so good. And I continued reading…

Then I came across this statement which reminded me of the sushi I ate last night and made me want to puke:

Datuk Dr Mohd Tap said the 6.76 score in the local corruption perception index was better than Transparency International’s 5.10 for Malaysia that was based on a survey of foreign businessmen.

"It is expected public perception will continue to improve, based on the Government’s development policy, greater transparency and the announcement of an independent Anti-Corruption Agency."

Adui! This is the government's typical mentality – “we are better than Ghana”.

To me, the score of 6.76 is not acceptable. Based on the standards of Hin Hua High School, 6.76 barely crosses the passing mark. I would have to hide my result card if I score 6.76. But, our government does not look at it that way: the score of 6.76 is still better than 5.10, the score given by Transparency International.

This reminds me of a reply given by one of the deputy ministers. Asked why UM is not a top 200 university in the world, the deputy minister said UM is doing ok because we have more than 35,000 universities in the world, so if we are not within the top 200, we are still ok.

Now you see my point? As long as we are still better than Ghana, we are doing fine. Actually, in what way we are better than Ghana? Ghana played in the World Cup! Can our national soccer team beat Vietnam? Yes, Vietnamese female soccer team, maybe.

Please read again the statement made by that Datuk (who is a PhD). It makes me wonder where he was for the past 1 to 2 years. Was he living in space? I doubt so because we only have the budget to send 1 handsome space tourist to space.

Government's development policy? Greater transparency? An independent Anti-Corruption Agency?

Where did he get the idea from? The New Straits Time?

This is my father's standard posture at home. Why do I risk my life publishing my father's picture here? Because today is his birthday! Happy birthday, dad!

(Note: this picture is used without his permission)


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