ALOR SETAR, March 25 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today expressed regret that Muslims are involved in corruption when Islam prohibits the activity.
The Prime Minister said “we often emphasise the demands of the religion to engage in mandatory practices and refrain from prohibited activities.
“Unfortunately, we are unaware of, or choose not to take seriously how sinful we are who are involved in corruption and abuse of power for self-interest.
“So much so that integrity, for us, is not a demand of Islam and we are not embarrassed when committing it (corruption) and, even if we do, it is not seen as something despicable,” he said when addressing Kedah civil servants at Wisma Darul Aman, here.
The Prime Minister also reminded civil servants to discard the materialistic mentality, the easy way out and the desire to get rich quickly, saying these can lead to corruption, malpractices and abuse of power.
Dr Mahathir said the people should also be aware of the danger of corruption to the integrity and progress of any race.
He said that besides all the efforts, programmes and regulations to curb corruption and abuse of power, awareness is the key factor in addressing the “disease”.
“History shows how great and glorious Islamic empires have fallen. It did not begin with the action of the enemies of Islam but with the abuse of power and corruption,” he said.
In this regard, he said, all quarters have to look again at the value system where there is the awareness that corruption and abuse of power are detested and hated by Islam and universal values.
“Without this awareness, we will continue to commit corruption and abuse of power and will not feel guilty or detest those who commit corruption and abuse of power,” he said. — Bernama
