Battling with corruption

[bluestocking]

It is really a thought provoking article...
Battling with corruption
NAZIA NAZAR
Nowadays, Pakistan and Indonesia both are in the limelight in the matter of corruption. In Indonesia, public demand for corruption eradication has almost turned out to be an anti-corruption movement resulting in bringing scores of former government officials to trial for corruption charges. Recently, Indonesia?s former health minister also went on trial for his alleged role in a graft case involving millions of dollars. In this scenario, it is being hoped that the New Year would be more fruitful for Indonesia in regard to corruption eradication efforts.
Pakistan has also been suffering from the menace of corruption since its very inception. During Yahya Khan?s Martial Law, 303 bureaucrats were sacked on the charges of corruption but nobody was put in the dock. Bhutto government had dismissed more than 1300 government employees on similar charges but none of them were tried in the courts. However, the matter of corruption took a new turn in history when an autocrat ruler had issued an ordinance known as National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to legalize the corruption of the ruling elites, which also provided a safe passage to 34 allegedly corrupt politicians to contest elections and sit in parliament. Now when the Supreme Court declared the ordinance as void, the debate is raging whether the NRO beneficiaries including the President should resign on moral grounds or not?
But one of the most important issues that needs to be addressed is why do people elect corrupt rulers in the first place at all? If we could answer this question, then we can find reasons why corruption has thrived in our system with no end in sight.
Anyhow, the people were jubilant over Supreme Court?s verdict invalidating the NRO while some others have gone so far in this regard that they have started cherishing the dream of a corruption- free Pakistan. Nevertheless, the need is to understand that an apex court can just dismiss a controversial ordinance, but rooting out an evil from a society is the collective responsibility of all the citizens of a country.
Corruption has pervaded in our society simply because we let it continue instead of resisting it strongly and willingly. As a result, it has permeated into every strata of our society. Furthermore, corruption is so widespread that it not only the ruling elites but we are also a part of it directly or indirectly.
Astonishingly, making money by hook or by crook seems to be a sole purpose of some sections of our society. And to achieve this objective, most of the people crave for lucrative government posts. The so-called representatives of the people, it is too well known that they contest elections not necessarily to lead this nation through crisis but to fill their pockets with billions and trillions of dollars from national exchequer. Members of the bureaucracy also join hands with political kingpins in this loot and plunder, which has eaten into the vitals of our society. They have stashed the ill-gotten wealth in foreign banks and invested in real estate and industry in other countries.
Unfortunately, all government departments depict the same picture of moral degeneration. From social welfare departments to corruption-eradication institutions, none can be described as corruption free in Pakistan. Unfortunately, everyone whosoever gets into the corridors of power behaves like a tyrant, and this attitude could be observed in all government departments, educational institutions and hospitals. The lamentable fact is that corruption has also impacted some ?respectable? professions, which were once considered purely humanitarian. For instance, nepotism is so common in education department where induction of teachers and their transfers are hardly made on merit.
Even doctors have fallen a prey to corruption, which usually includes duty negligence, illegal selling of hospital medicines, embezzlement of grants etc. Likewise, lawyers have their own methods to earn plenty of money through illegal and wrong practices. Intellectual corruption is also a cause of concern for those who think they exist in a ?civilized? society. Isn?t it shameful that some of our professors have been indulging in plagiarism while preparing their PhD thesis? Similarly, our media men also do not feel qualms for the intellectual corruption where some opportunists sell words for few pennies. The state of corruption in our country can be gauged by the fact that our religious clergy is also not free from allegations of corruption since misusing funds given to mosques and madrassas is not something uncommon.
The list is too long which ultimately ends up highlighting the role of a common man, which he plays in the whole setup of corruption. To begin with, forty percent of our countrymen are involved in electricity theft resulting in worsening of the energy crisis day by day. While according to an estimate, more than 30 per cent of our people surrender to corrupt mafia dominated in government offices and pay bribes for obtaining services in Pakistan. Tax evasion by wealthy citizens is so rampant in our country that coupled with other factors it has brought our economy almost to the verge of disaster.
The fact of the matter is that evil can be decimated only when it is considered an evil. It seems that corruption at the official level is not committed as a crime in Pakistan but it is taken as a share in national resources, which is distributed from top to bottom. Moreover, everyone has his own justification to cover up his guilt and wrongdoing. A politician grabs money from national treasury considering it an opportunity which once missed might not knock the door again. Recently a minister accepted in a local media that, ?Corruption is our right?.
Likewise, a bureaucrat is prone to digest illegal money deeming it as a fruit of his labour, which he undergoes through his academic life. On the other hand a less influential government official makes low salary, which becomes an excuse to justify taking bribes. So it would not be an exaggeration to say that corruption exists in our society as a culture and as a way of life we have learnt to live with.
However, in the culture of corruption, which prevails in our society, we should certainly salute to those people who resolutely remain honest throughout their lives. They are less in number but undoubtedly they excel in moral strength and human dignity. Though it is a silver lining behind the clouds of desperation, but a dream of making Pakistan a corruption-free society cannot be fulfilled until every one realize their responsibilities towards their country. It seems to be difficult but certainly not impossible.

The Nation[/B]