INTEGRITY INTEGRITY INTEGRITY INTEGRITY

OF THE PUBLIC SERVICEOF THE PUBLIC SERVICE

FEDERATION OF MALAYAFEDERATION OF MALAYA

COMMISSION REPORT 1955COMMISSION REPORT 1955

the sense of honour• Of all safeguards against the corrupt practice the best

and strongest is unwillingness on the part of the officer to accept any bribe or gift. This attitude of mind is higher than mere honesty. It is a standard of honour, founded on self respect, sense of duty, tradition and discipline.

• Self respect is a major factor which depends largely on a feeling of security and contentment. It is necessary that public servants should be adequately paid but once a man is above the anxiety level conditions of service are more important than money.

Background• Policy statement in the legislative

council• Terms of reference• Commissioners• Sources of information• Proceedings

Attorney-General’s statement

(2nd July 1952)• Publicity – whilst criminal proceedings must remain the spearhead of

the attack on the more vicious forms of corruption, it is realised that nothing can be more effective in eliminating corruption at all levels

than the attitude of the public towards it.

• If the public wants corruption it will get corruption, no matter what action the authorities may take. If the public does not want corruption, it can be more effective in stopping corruption than can any legislative

or penal measures.

• To this end it has been decided to launch a publicity and education campaign designed to bring home as clearly and as cogently as possible to the public the evils that flow from corruption and to

inculcate in every individual at an early stage that repulsion and contempt for corruption and for those who indulge in it, which will not

only make the individual himself immune to its temptations, if and when they arise, but will also diminish the attractions which it may hold

for a few.

Commissions of Enquiry T.O.R. (Ordinance 1950, Order L.N. 558 dd 1st Oct 1952)

a) To enquire into and to consider –(i) the incidence of corruption in the Government Services of the Federal

Government; and(ii) the extent of, and the justification for, public anxiety on this subject;

b) To report on the foregoing matters and to make recommendations as to what further steps can be taken to reduce corruption and the opportunities for it;

c) For the purposes aforesaid, to enquire into the performance of the duties entrusted to Federal officers and, in so far as the Commission may deem it appropriate, into allegations that any such officers have received bribes, illegal gratifications, secret commissions or other payments or gifts made corruptly or improperly, or have otherwise acted in a manner detrimental to the integrity and good repute of the public service.

Commissioners• Mr. Justice E.N. Taylor – Chairman• Mr. Yong Shook Lin• Mr. V.M.N. Menon• Inche Hussein bin Onn• Mr. G. Shelley• Raja Musa Raja Mahadi• Major A.C. Smith• Mr. J.G. Black• Mr. A.M.F. Webb

Sources of information• Government files• Callers• Letters from individuals• The Press• Statements in public sessions• Statements in private sessions

The nature of corrupt practices

“Bribery” and “corruption” are not synonymous. Corruption is a general term embracing all corrupt

practices. Bribery is specific.

• Gifts• Bribes• Exactions• Favouritism

Gifts• Include mere tips, substantial presents, entertainment, which is a

subtle and complicated form with many variations, and voluntary payments which may be called ‘sweeteners’ or ‘insurance’.

• These are the minor forms of corruption. They vary as much in their importance and danger as they do in size and value. Their principal common characteristics are that they are made voluntarily by the donor, that they do not involve crime though they usually do involve an offence against service discipline, and that they are not given to further a purpose which is in itself improper.

• The principal objections to them are that they so easily lead to more serious forms of corruption and in any case they impair the dignity and repute of the individual and of the service as a whole.

Bribe• A bribe is money or money’s worth,

given to a person in authority either to do something improper or to neglect a duty.

• The essence of a bribe is mutuality. Bribery is a crime by both giver and receiver.

Exactions• Exactions may be subdivided into ‘squeeze’ and

extortion. In essence they are the same – an abuse of power to obtain money.

• There is no mutuality. The relation is that of rogue and victim. But the cases vary infinitely in degree.

• By ‘squeeze’ we mean the minor forms, such as making the victim uncomfortable in order to exact a tip, conduct which is objectionable but does not constitute a penal offence. If the harm threatened amounts to a definite injury the offence is extortion which is a serious crime.

Favouritism• An official may use his position to further his own interests,

or those of his friends, in a large variety of ways, some of them are mere deviations from the highest standards of conduct, others are grave misconduct, such as making an assessment, for quota or taxation, of property in which his friends have an interest. No money need pass. The official may not benefit, even indirectly, but there is a want of impartiality.

• These cases vary widely in their nature. In some of them it may be a matter of opinion whether they would be called corrupt but any kind of conflict between duty and interest impairs the integrity of the public service and must be checked – partly for reputation and partly lest a minor abuse lead to a grave one.

Preventive Measures

• Corruption can never be wholly abolished, neither can theft.

• An absolutely honest man will not take a dollar for himself even if he finds it lying on the floor of the office. A man who is fundamentally a rogue is always on the look out for an easy chance to steal. The great majority of people are somewhere between these two extremes. Their honesty depends on circumstances. They balance rewards and risks.

• An accountant who seldom checks the books puts an unfair temptation in the way of cashiers. No system is absolutely proof against defalcation but proper business methods do sustain the honesty of the staff.

• In exactly the same way, an efficient Government is, on the whole, an incorrupt government. An inefficient department allows opportunities for corruption; sooner or later they will be taken and the department will become corrupt. To a great extent therefore a campaign against corruption and a campaign for efficiency will use the same methods – organisations – discipline – supervision. The keynote is promptness.

• It ought to be impressed on the mind of every head of department and office that part of his normal duty is to keep the whole organisation constantly under observation, to prevent delay and congestion and to prevent opportunities for corrupt practice, regardless of whether there is any suspicion of individuals. Special care should be taken to avoid exposing junior officers to unfair temptation, as by placing them in charge, even temporarily, of matters out of proportion to their experience.

Delays

• They nearly all boil down to avoiding delay. Whether the service required is the mere issuing of a revenue receipt, the granting of a licence or the consideration of an application for a mining lease, the principle is the same.

• It should be done promptly, whereby the volume of office work would be much reduced – in short, it would be done efficiently and therefore corruption would diminish.

• No one really likes paying money to a government office, either for taxation or for anything else. In the long run the public will cease to offer tips if they know that they will be served equally promptly without tipping. If there is a queue, the man in a hurry may offer money to jump the queue.

• This is where tipping leads to bribery. If the man in charge of the counter takes money as a reward for showing a favour, as by dealing with an applicant before his turn, that is bribery and it soon leads to the next stage; the official deliberately holds back those who do not tip, in order to induce them to do so; that is extortion.

• Abolish the delay and there will neither be inducement to the public to pay nor temptation of the official to receive or exact.

• If the opportunity goes, the corruption goes with it.

Circulars – enforcement issue

• The general problems of enforcing administrative measures.

• Circulars, no matter how skillfully drawn, of themselves achieve very little and indeed are to a certain extent dangerous in that they create in the minds of the higher authorities a misleading impression that, having given the instructions, they have done their best and that it is for somebody else to carry them out.

• It is a necessary corollary that the circular should be accompanied by strenuous efforts by the highest executives, not only initially but laboriously and patiently sustained for an indefinite period, to create in the minds of all heads of department and office the idea that a circular is not something which they will glance through, politely acknowledge and neatly file, but something which they build into their daily practice until compliance with it by every one affected becomes habitual and almost instinctive.

Conduct and discipline

• The fundamental principle of employment in the civil establishments is that a man devotes the whole of his working life to the public service in return for emoluments which are proportionate to his status and with a pension to provide for his old age. He can never acquire wealth but he is not exposed to unemployment or to the other risks of commercial life.

• Most public servants are required at one time or another to exercise discretion in the course of their administration duties and it is of the first importance not only that they should act fairly and without favouritism but also that they should be believed by the public to do so.

• It is therefore the duty of every officer so to conduct his personal life and affairs as to ensure:

1. That, apart from his official emoluments, he obtains no material advantage whatever, either for himself, or for any friend or relation, by reason of his position;

2. That no member of the public obtains through his influence any unfair advantage over any other member, either directly or indirectly;

3. That the reputation of the service for impartiality and integrity is maintained.

Recommendations• Prevention of opportunities• Criminal proceedings• Opium• Legislation• Miscellaneous remedies

Conclusion• Regulations are necessary but of

themselves they achieve little. The spirit in which they are enforced is more important and this must always depend on the senior officers. No system can be much better than the men who work it. In the end, everything depends on the personality of the individual.