Why is it that despite the increasing depravity, degeneration, and desperation all around us, it is only the law-abiding citizens of this country who appear to notice and indeed, lament the wholesale decay – economic, social, and moral – taking place at an alarming pace? 

For years now social activists and right-minded citizens have been warning about the dire consequences of corrupt politicians and the unmitigated politicisation of critical aspects of the governance apparatus that are primarily designed to be apolitical, citizen-centric, and service oriented. However, the political authority has paid scant regard to such concerns over the years and it now appears that the warnings have indeed come true and the once-proud State service – more notably critical sectors such as law enforcement, education, health, and transport – is in utter ruin and on the brink of collapse.

One of the biggest victims of politicisation has been the Police Department. In fact, it was none other than the current IGP, now on his second extension of service, who raised alarm some time back over the overwhelming number of Officers-in-Charge of Police stations that had been appointed purely on political recommendation. The IGP noted that these officers, numbering nearly 200 and covering key stations in the country, lacked necessary discipline, capacity, and skills to maintain law and order. 

It has also been revealed that almost half of the active Police force numbering in excess of 80,000 are engaged in VIP protection while it is the remaining force of about 40,000 that have been tasked with protecting 22 million hapless citizens. To add insult to injury, the Minister-in-Charge of Police is reported to have been clamouring to appoint an individual whose dubious record has been frowned upon by civil society, the Bar Association, and even the clergy as the new IGP, and was only prevented from doing so by the President.

The carnage caused to the fabric of society by politicians and their sycophants who have crept into influential positions through political patronage and now dominate the State sector is becoming more palpable by the day. In a nation where the Chief Government Whip is serving a suspended sentence for extortion, it has come to a point where the entire governance structure now hinges on the morality of one individual – the Head of State – since Parliament nor Cabinet can be trusted to work in the public interest, even at a time when the nation is haemorrhaging from the effects of their own failed governance.

Unfortunately, however, it appears that even that last remaining bulwark has opted to play politics and go with the flow, resulting in what has become a hopeless situation for the people as far as morals and ethics are concerned. Today, moral decay has sunk to such depths that not only are powerful ministers protecting the corrupt and wrongdoers, but are also unabashedly lobbying for the appointment of their lackeys to critically important departmental positions, while others continue to gloss over serious accountability failings that have resulted in catastrophic consequences including multiple deaths in State hospitals and even on the open roads due to lack of proper infrastructure.

This nation has come to a point where ministers have been reduced to mere jokers for the explanations they routinely come up with for the most dire situations, which in any other self-respecting country would have resulted in their immediate resignation or expulsion. With even the Head of State choosing to look the other way, the biggest liability for the nation and its people are the very people they elected to office who continue to pervert the system through a mandate that has long lost its validity.

In a country where the very same people responsible for driving it to bankruptcy have been appointed to probe what happened and where the Minister of Health remains unconcerned and unmoved by multiple deaths that continue to occur under his nose in State hospitals, what hope is there for the citizens that they will ever get a better deal?

It is true that things appear to be looking up on the economic front, but what must not be forgotten is that this nation is still a long way off from where it was economically prior to the self-inflicted wounds of the constitutional coup of October 2018, followed six months later by the Easter attacks. To date, despite the Supreme Court finding the then President guilty of wrongdoing, no follow-up action has taken place to make him account for his high-handed act. 

In fact, it was the Supreme Court that yet again came to the rescue of those affected by the Easter Sunday attacks which took place under the watch of that same President. Despite the lapse of over four years, there has been no political will to investigate and identify the masterminds behind the attacks. 

The former President who was found guilty of negligence now stands in contempt of court along with the five others who were sentenced, save one, who have failed to pay the respective fines decreed by court on the due date which expired last week. The failure of the current political leadership to even utter a word on the issue is the clearest indictment of the depths to which this nation has fallen on the quality of its leadership. Since the ill-fated coup of 2018, the same actors have been playing with the future of this country, first running it to the ground and now boasting that things are on the mend.

At the end of the day, corruption is not necessarily through commission alone; omission to take action either before or after such an event is tantamount to a crime that is equal in nature. Therefore, those who look the other way when their constitutionally derived duty is to take necessary action to bring those responsible to book, are also by default aiding and abetting such acts. 

There is a reason why those responsible for even the slightest hint of corruption either resign or are sacked in First World countries; because that singular act sends across a powerful message. Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew was successful in eradicating corruption which paved the way for its astounding growth by first implementing the law with his closest friends, which sent a powerful message that can only be conveyed through real action. As they say, the rest is history.

To give the devil his due, the deposed former President at least had the sense of duty to call for the resignation of the Minister of Aviation when the Japanese Ambassador accused him of soliciting a bribe. Today he continues in the post having been ‘cleared’ of wrongdoing by a ‘special committee’. 

The question that begs the answer is when and where will this rot stop? The degeneration has already spread to schools, universities, places of religious worship, and State departments that are supposed to serve the people. What is alarming is that those who are supposed to arrest such degeneration are in fact the cause of it. 

The recent revelation by the Justice Minister that courts were choking with over a million pending cases and that one-third of cases in courts were related to rape and child abuse point to a country that is not only economically but also morally and ethically bankrupt.

Interestingly enough, it was reported that the Minister of Aviation had stated that if all pilots of the National Carrier left the country for greener pastures like most others these days, the Government would get foreign pilots to run the National Carrier. Can this same principle be applied to failed politicians as well?