How Did They Defeat Corruption?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The phenomenon of the so-called "Singapore miracle" has created an opinion in society that Singapore is a country that has ended not only economic problems, but also eradicated one of the most important scourges of modern society - corruption. This opinion is often supported by a quote from the country's leader Lee Kuan Yew, who is rightfully considered the person who gave Singapore a second life: "If you want to defeat corruption, be ready to send your friends and relatives to jail."

Or, here's another famous quote from him: “Start by putting three of your friends in jail. You know exactly why, and they know why. The position is so radical that there is simply nothing to add to it. But is everything so cloudless on the incorruptible Singapore skyline? Let's take a look at the real situation in a country that has defeated corruption.

But first, a few shots for those who know nothing about this city-state at all. Singapore, the size of the city of Kiev and three times smaller than Moscow, has turned from an impoverished country into one of the world leaders in GDP in terms of purchasing power parity per capita. The average salary in the country is $ 4,000. A beginner specialist in the capital can count on $ 3000 per month. At the same time, the cost, for example, of medical services is lower than in Europe and the USA. But once Singapore was a group of swampy islands without minerals.

Even fresh water had to be imported from the mainland. Plus, a multinational population torn apart by contradictions, aggressive neighbors, a post-war crisis and rampant crime. And, of course, corruption has become an absolute norm. In the days when the country was a British colony, general corruption was a daily occurrence in it. After all, most of the country's population is Chinese, their mentality did not allow contacting officials without a “gift”. In the post-war period, the situation only worsened.

The breakthrough came when, in 1959, Singapore became a self-governing state within the British Empire, and leader Lee Kuan Yew took over as prime minister. It all started with the Anti-Corruption Act, which gave the main body of Singapore - the Bureau of Corruption Investigation or, in short, DBK - great opportunities to prosecute violators. The new government has set the task of eradicating abuse of power, regardless of personal connections and making no exceptions. Members of the Cabinet of Ministers and even relatives of the Prime Minister became the object of investigations.

In 1960, a law was passed, the so-called presumption of guilt, which made it possible to consider the fact that the accused lived beyond his means or had property that he could not acquire with his income as evidence of a bribe. Remuneration received by an official from any person was considered a bribe until proven otherwise. An official who failed to prove his innocence was threatened with confiscation of property, prison, at best, a fine. The system of penalties in Singapore has been brought to the absolute. Moreover, DBK has repeatedly carried out investigations into the address of Lee Kuan Yew and his family, albeit to no avail. During the activity of DBK, several federal ministers, heads of trade unions, public figures, top managers of state companies were arrested. For the rule of law, the prime minister jailed even a close friend when he was convicted of corruption, and National Development Minister Te Chin Wan, who received $ 800,000 in cash for providing developers with plots of state land, committed suicide.

In a suicide note addressed personally to Lee Kuan Yew, he wrote: "As a noble oriental gentleman, I believe that it will be fair if I pay the highest price for my mistake." people have new standards. The first step was to reduce opportunities for corruption, and the three principles - meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty - were turned into the three pillars of public service. Literally translated, the principle of meritocracy is the rule of the worthy; is the opposite of kleptocracy - the rule of thieves.

Its implementation is based on the search for talent in any social stratum; if a person is creative and capable, he will be attracted to public service and endowed with the benefits arising from his ability to think strategically, decide and act using innovative management methods. The second principle is pragmatism as choosing the most effective way of prosperity and development for the country. The third principle is high morality. The society was given the so-called "honesty inoculation". The special atmosphere of order also contributed to the decrease in the level of corruption.