Integrity is doing the right thing - even when nobody is watching

Integrity is a quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, or moral uprightness. It is a personal choice to hold one’s self to consistent standards.

In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty, truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions, according to Wikipedia. Integrity can stand in opposition to hypocrisy and suggests that parties holding apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs.

As such, one may judge that others “have integrity” to the extent that they act according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold.

The website of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), among others, lists some of the organisations which signed the “integrity pledge”. If you Google these two words, you would come across scores of organisations – public and private – that have signed it and boast about their “achievement” on their respective websites.

The integrity pledge bears no weight and for some corporate bigwigs, it serves as a smokescreen to cover their shortcomings. Many believe that once they sign the pledge, attention is immediately diverted from them and wrongdoings will melt away.

A scan of the proverbial cans of worms that have been opened since the new government came into power on May 9 will show that many of those involved in dubious activities have signed such integrity pledges.

As you walk into some agencies and departments, you will come across notices and banners on their “no gift” policy. Well and good. But is it working or workable?

Pledges and policies are not legally binding. Sometimes, while the right hand signs the pledge, the left hand is in the cash box.

The Auditor-General’s Report is a catalogue of cases where the pledge had been breached. But even the MACC, which drafted and arranged for its signing, is unable to do anything.

Refuse all 'displays of appreciation'

However, Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s refusal of a mobile phone given to him as a “token of appreciation” (a phrase often used as a guise to hand over valuable gifts), last week, drew nationwide attention.

Loke (photo) said: “We don't need any such show of appreciation. I have to reject it because I’m sure it costs over RM500. Just a word to future event organisers, please take note, that we, the Pakatan Harapan government, will not accept any gifts. As far as I’m concerned, I don't need any gifts.”

By extension, the minister should have said: “We don’t need full-page advertisements to thank us for turning up at functions.”

This is because companies spend hundreds of thousands of ringgit on such advertisements, especially just before elections because the minister or VIP wants to be “visible” to the public.

A day after Loke’s gesture, there was a full-page colour advertisement by a developer thanking Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad for his attendance at its launch.

One may argue that the RM30,000 (which is much more than the cost of a mobile phone) spent on the advertisement was not public money but that amount, if channelled towards charitable organisations, could have fed 5,000 empty stomachs for a day.

I raise this because I had previously complained very loudly that the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) had spent RM22,000 on advertisements congratulating a minister and his deputy who were recipients of titles bestowed on the occasion of a ruler's birthday. That money, I had argued, belonged to employers and that it was being held in trust by HRDF.

The photographs of the then human resources minister Richard Riot (photo) and his deputy, Ismail Abdul Muttalib, were displayed in the advertisement that was signed off as: From The Board of Directors and Staff of the Human Resources Development Fund. It also carried the HRDF and Human Resources Ministry logos.

There was a small victory, sort of – I was subsequently informed by the then integrity minister Paul Low that a directive had been issued by the cabinet barring the use of taxpayers' funds for congratulatory advertisements.

Loke did not sign any pledge but re-emphasised the new government’s policy. Khalid should take no blame – maybe he was not even aware that an advertisement would be published.

But there are other sides to this. A few years ago, a public relations practitioner told us of a former politician-turned-social activist who called after being invited to officiate a green efficiency programme.

A day before the launch the PR man got a call: “I am coming tomorrow, what will I be receiving as a token of appreciation?” When told it would be a pewter plaque, he said: “I have enough of those. Get me the latest Remington electric shaver, Model No PF 7400”, which was duly bought and presented at the ceremony!

Loke has matched his words with his deeds. After all, integrity is adherence to a moral code, reflected in honesty and harmony. He said and did what he deemed was the right thing to do. By the way, integrity is also defined as “doing the right thing – even when nobody is looking.”

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R NADESWARAN salutes the transport minister and hopes the private sector will do more for the community by diverting all the money spent on “thank you” advertisements to worthy causes. Comments: citizen.nades@thesundaily.com - Mkini

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