graft, oh graft

why am i not surprise at this front report of the star saying that the construction sector is choked with graft. methink many of us already know that for a fact too. if the most corrupt authorities is the police (a survey at one time found that out), then the most corrupt business industry got to be the construction industry. don’t you agree with me?

the construction industry involves a lot of hands in the chain of work and a lot of red tape, hence corruption is bound to occur. who is at fault? according to the former director-general of the anti-corruption agency, datuk shafee yahaya, said it is the failure of the delivery system and call on the gomen to act quickly to curb the growing corruption. ahhh… but how to, if it is the gomen authorities who are also part of the graft ride?

well it’s not only corruption but also favouritism (or rather cronism), i see that is working esp. for awarding of tenders. sometimes the gomen tend to award tender to some companies they like, or who are their cronies, instead of looking at the company’s background, its expertise, skill, and so on. case in point, long ago, people had grumbled about the awarding of contract to a certain company to run the penang outer ring road (PORR) project – a relatively unknown company with a low paid-up capital and with no track record. (here, you may find some info… and name… of the said company).
which industry do you think come close to the construction industry as being most prone to graft? banking/finance? maybe.

i have a friend who used to work for the world bank and he was stationed in one of the SEA countries. he hold quite a high position and he used to travel almost all round the world on business. he told me that everywhere he went (other countries), the corruption was terrible. corruption here, corruption there. and you know what? not in terms of cash only but also…. sex. terrible eh?

related link: the sun and catcha.com also carries an article on this topic.

in the meantime, our PM, in an address in the US, said that the gomen’s campaign against corruption is beginning to yield result.