Stop idolising corrupted leaders or risk becoming like the Philippines

SHAH ALAM - Malaysia could be the next Philippines if the people continues to idolise and support the corrupt despite having a more deserving candidate to lead, says Rasuah Busters chief executive officer Nurhayati Nordin.

Not only that, she said the choice of leader will also reflect to values and morals of the Malaysian people who will determine the wellbeing and prosperity of the country.

Thus why, she said, Malaysia needs people who were honest, competent and with integrity to be leaders.

"Winning our war on corruption requires a holistic and comprehensive strategy, starting with internal resilience and the ability to withstand materialism and mere worldly pleasures.

“Tyranny due to corruption is a despicable and a despicable legacy, while each of us human beings will still end in death as promised by Allah SWT.

"To prevent Malaysia from becoming like the Philippines, Sri Lanka and other empires that fell due to leakages, abuse of power and corruption, punitive and preventive approaches must be implemented with the collective involvement of enforcement agencies as an instrument to curb the spread the disease we call corruption," she told Sinar.

Nurhayati said this following Ferdinand Marcos Jr victory in the Philippine presidential election.

The landslide win was an astonishing reversal of the 1986 “People Power” pro-democracy revolt that ousted his father 36 years ago. Marcos fell due to corruption, nepostism and cronyism that led to a national crisis and instability.

Therefore, Nurhayati said, the people cannot allow Malaysia's deteriorating position in the corruption perception index (CPI) to worsen and become like the Philippines.

"The people has a role to play in fighting corruption, not just those who is in power," she said.