The press plays an active role in publishing examples of corrupt cases involving senior civil servants or politicians, and in providing complete details of the offences and punishment meted out. This both informs the public about the consequences ofcorruption, as well as fosters a climate that is less tolerant of corruption.
There is also strong public support against corruption because of their confidencein the CPIB to deal fairly, thoroughly and confidentially with the complaints they lodgewith the CPIB. The public believes they will receive a fair and impartial hearing, and willbe protected from harassment and retaliation. It is a trust very difficult to regain if lost.This in itself is a check on the CPIB to always act in a way which reinforces, rather thandetracts, from public trust.
I have described the past and the present concerning corruption in the CivilService. Allow me now to turn to the future. The first question must be: What will thefuture be like? As I mentioned early in this address,
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It is a future of a more demanding and critical public, an external environmentmore fluid and less predictable, a world more linked up by InformationTechnology yet more competitive as states drive for talent, investments andmarkets.
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It is a future not only of change, but of change at an increasing pace.
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It is a future of information, but information so voluminous and overwhelmingthat the problem is extracting the most relevant and putting them together in a way which allows good decisions to be made.
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It is a future of opportunity, but opportunity so many and varied that thedifficulty is sorting out what opportunities to pursue and what to leave alone.
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It is a future of market economies, where more than ever before the privatesector must be an engine of growth, yet their capacity to move fast and moveright must depend on a public service which facilitates rather than controls.
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It is a future of uncertainty and unpredictability, yet we must find a way to be intime for such a future.
Dr Jon Quah (Bureaucratic Corruption in the ASEAN Countries: A ComparativeAnalysis of their Anti-Corruption Strategies, 1982)
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