GEORGE TOWN – An Umno veteran will submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on the need to introduce a legislated code of ethics and conduct for politicians to keep their behaviour in check.
The codes can act as a guide on what should be the proper conduct of politicians where, for example, they should refrain from spreading slander or broaching sensitive matters of race and religion without basis, said Tan Sri Mohd Yusoff Latiff.
Yusoff, who heads the oldest Malay organisation in the country called the Penang Malays Association (Pemenang), said the memorandum has been finalised and will be submitted to Ismail Sabri soon, especially in view of the Malaysia Day celebrations tomorrow.
He also mooted enacting punitive laws to punish politicians who breach the codes.
“We have Rukun Negara principles for the rakyat. Now, we need a similar creed for our leaders to prevent them from misbehaving.
“In light of what has transpired, with politicians defecting to betraying the cause of their own voters and the countless claims of corruption, there is a need to go back to the basics of why we become politicians in the first place,” Yusoff told The Vibes.
The ethics and conduct codes can act as a shield for the country to prevent errant representatives from abusing their roles when they are elected to serve, he added.
Provisions of the code were derived from the historical leadership conduct of the country's founding leaders, who resisted corruption and the temptations to abuse power to ensure the country could transition from a colonised nation to a respected, developing one, up until the recent political debacle, said Yusoff.
Another reference that can act as an ethical bedrock is the social contract, which leaders can use to better understand the needs of diverse communities here, should they wish to pursue politics as a career, he added.
Yusoff added that the code can guide politicians who are pursuing a temporary truce now in view of the devastating impacts of the pandemic besieging the country.
Meanwhile, another party veteran, former Perlis menteri besar Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh, opined that leaders today should mull over whether the goals of the Malays are compatible with the aspirations of all Malaysians.
“If the goals of the Malays differ from the wants of other communities, surely, it would be difficult to achieve much without national unity and the sharing of the same vision.” – The Vibes, September 15, 2021
