Source/Author: By Dr. Mark Lovatt

Business Integrity Programmes Manager, TI-M

Corruption blights lives. Most developing nations experience the impact of corruption to some extent, and developed nations have this problem too. In countries where governance is poor and the political structure is dominated by a self-selected elite, citizens pay a high price for the luxurious lifestyles of their leaders. Corruption impacts the poorest. In Mexico, it was reported that a family on average pays 109.50 pesos as bribes to authorities; households have also reported paying up to 6.9% of their income as bribes. Malaysia is currently ranked 54th out of the 174 countries listed in the TI Corruption Perception Index. It is possible (though not easy) for people to run their lives here without having to resort to bribery. However, it still impacts our lives in many ways, such as public services falling below what we would expect for the prices paid, or high prices and poor service for goods we buy in the shops.

Businesses are particularly prone to corrupt practices, being both a target for bribes and using corruption to achieve their own ends. Companies are often viewed as honeypots by officials who think that a few hundred or thousand ringgit is no big deal for a business with a turnover of hundreds of thousands, or millions, and will use their position to extract a payment from the company for it to secure the licences it needs to operate, or simply freedom from harassment by them.

Many business owners, including Christians, see bribery as simply a cost of doing business. Be it in sales, or in dealing with the authorities, bribery works. It is quick and simple and gets the job done - securing orders, getting smooth sign-off of deliveries and swift payment. The cost is built into the price of the job. A generous gift at Chinese New Year or Hari Raya, or on an inspection visit from a Government agency, keeps the wheels smoothly oiled and ensures the business can continue its operation undisturbed. Never mind that the goods delivered are substandard, with no customer support, or defective returns not allowed. Never mind that the manufacturers who do a good job and should win orders cannot survive without resorting to unethical practices. Never mind that the factories are dangerous places to work, with people falling sick due to a toxic environment, or being maimed by unsafe machinery. The bribes ensure that bad business practices prevail, while those seeking to do godly business, based on good service, high-quality products and value for money barely survive, if at all. Is this what God intended for His people when He called us into a relationship with Him? The grace of God was extended to us to enable us to live by faith and act with righteousness. Any other way of living before our holy God ‘falls short’ (the technical definition of sin) of what He requires of us as His people.

I joined Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) in 2011. Datuk Paul Low (now Minister for Governance and Integrity) was the President of the chapter then. I met him originally in 2009 at a discussion held in a local church on the challenge of corruption in the business sector. At that time I was lecturing in Systematic Theology full-time, at both MBS in Klang and STM in Seremban. Coming from a corporate background in the UK, and from a long-standing Christian business family, I have always believed in the value of good business practice as one of the ways the people of God can live by faith and bring His kingdom values into the world where we live. I continued the conversation with Datuk Paul over the following months. However, I was busy starting up an energy efficiency consultancy and also preparing to get married to my Malaysian fiance, Debra. It wasn’t until April 2011 that I began working with TI to set up the Business Integrity Programme (BIP) that I now manage. Like many of the staff I considered working with TI a calling. Anti-corruption is not an easy industry to work in, with significant risks and powerful entrenched interests to work against. However, Malaysia is showing clear signs of being on an improved trend, and with significant changes happening it looks like we’re at an exciting time in the country’s development.

The initial work of the BIP has been in the area of helping companies set up policies and procedures to safeguard their operations against corruption. Our pilot project was with Thumbprints Utd, a substantial family-owned printing company in Rawang. The Managing Director, Tam Wah Fiong has had a long-standing commitment to business integrity following him becoming a Christian in 1997, and has been a corporate member of TI-M for many years. We worked with Thumbprints to design and test the initial Corporate Integrity System (CIS), for which we used international best practice tools provided by the TI Secretariat in Berlin and support from other chapters, particularly TI-UK.

Soon after we completed the pilot project, we were asked by the Selangor State Government to work with one of their state-owned companies to introduce an Integrity Pact System (IPS). This was an exciting opportunity, involving groundwork to understand the challenges of their particular industry and what kind of Pact, with infrastructure, would add value to the operations of the company. We worked closely with the company operations manager and built the system, then supported them through the implementation. When it came to briefing their contractors, many of them, to our surprise, were wholeheartedly in favour of the measures, and even gave us a round of applause at the end of the session! The company later went on to implement a full CIS with us.

Seeing the impact of the IPS, a much bigger state enterprise, PKNS, was interested to know what TI-M could do for them in the area of integrity infrastructure. In late 2011, PKNS provided a grant for TI-M to implement a full CIS, which was our first project for a corporation of this size. The design and testing of the system took six months, followed by preparation of the training and communication plan, with implementation beginning in earnest following the Board approval of the system in October 2012. An extensive training programme followed, managed by a very industrious Integrity Manager, with a number of innovative ideas such as office door stickers, lift decor, a short film involving the company staff and other measures to engage and sustain the interest of the staff. Their CIS programme is now cited as a best practice by the MACC and is being rolled out to the PKNS subsidiaries.

One of the services we provide is tender process analysis and contract management recommendations. This is usually where the material benefit of an integrity system can be identified most clearly. A fragile tendering system can be manipulated by unscrupulous external parties, on occasions with the collusion of the company’s own staff, to direct contracts into the hands of bribe payers rather than the best company for the job. With a few changes, a revised tendering system, with effective contract monitoring, can have a significant impact on costs and business profitability. One of our major clients estimates that improved tendering, with an Integrity Pact done with the help of TI-M, has already saved the company over RM300 million. This kind of savings is way above the cost of the integrity system.

There are many Christians in business in Malaysia. As a large and influential group of people we have the means to stand for godly righteousness in our business dealings, and so do our part to bring about national transformation for the benefit of all. This is not only our duty, it is also the means by which we may encounter God in our workplaces and live by faith in relationship with Him. This is the year of the EXPOSED campaign, which is a worldwide call to Christians across the globe to make a difference in fighting corruption. Will we as God’s people join millions round the world to stand firm against the evils of corruption? This is the time, and it is our responsibility. Who but us have the decision-making ability to stand for integrity in our own companies or areas of operation? There are many of us, of all faiths, at work on this.

Let this be the year that we as Christians make a difference to the world of business by our stand for integrity, truth and justice.

Dr Mark Lovatt is also the Director of Workplace Theology at the Malaysian Bible Seminary, delivering practical, biblical teaching to strengthen God’s people in the workplace. He can be contacted at mark.lovatt@transparency.org.my

Printed with permission from
Care Contact
4th Quarter Issue
Sept-Nov 2013