Has wrong become right? Does corruption corrupt?

This may be old news but the Ren Ci/Shi Ming Yi alleged CBT case reminds me of what MM Lee Kuan Yew said in January this year of ex-President Suharto of Indonesia: "Yes, there was corruption. Yes, he gave favours to his family and his friends. But there was real growth and real progress. I think the people of Indonesia are lucky. They had a general in charge, had a team of competent administrators – including a very good team of economists to build up the country."

There was "real growth and real progress" in both NKF and Ren Ci! The "general in charge" and their "team of competent administrators' were at their best when it came to milking money out of the public with their song and dance!

Breach of trust, criminal or not, leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. The father-in-law of the Great-Grandma of my grand-daughter, yes, my Grandpa, taught me this when I was a kid:
"When you lose your wealth, you lose nothing;
When you lose your health, you lose something;
When you lose your integrity, you lose everything".

He taught me that if I lose my money, I can get it back through hard work and enterprise. If I lost my health (like my heart attack) it depends on how bad the health challenge is. However, if I lost my integrity, my trustworthiness, nobody would even touch me with a ten-foot pole. It's the beginning of the end!

It's been more than forty years since Grandpa passed on and it's more than fifty years that he passed me this gem that has been my guiding light. Does not make me rich but helps me build honest lasting relationships with many and makes me happy even after suffering a heart attack :)

What have I learned from NKF since Durai was judged guilty? What am I learning from Ren Ci where Ming Yi is now under the heat? Great-Grandma of my grand-daughter says, "Gian Lui, Gian Chay Wee, Hai See Kar Ki, Lor." roughly translated: "Greed for Money and Power/Position Hurts/Kills Oneself". Root of All Evils?

Going back to MM Lee who said of Suharto quoted from ChannelNewsAsia: "I feel sad to see a very old friend with whom I had worked closely over the last 30 years, not really getting the honours that he deserves. He deserves recognition for what he did."

Honours and recognition? Let's read some from transform written by Indonesian Martin Manurong and MM Lee: Lucky Indonesians written by Choo Zheng Xi to know more.

Are we as lucky as Indonesians?

Or has the value of Integrity hit the pits and gone the way of the Dinosaurs?

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Great men are almost always bad men."
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902)

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