Addiction to money a bigger problem than religion, says Zaid
PETALING JAYA : Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim today responded to remarks on corruption and religion by a member of the G25 group of prominent retired civil servants, saying the main problem in Malaysia is a general 'addiction' to money.
Johan Ariffin had called for a decoupling of religion from politics, arguing that religiosity had proven to be an insufficient deterrent against corruption.
In a post on X today, Zaid said that while Johan might be right, his suggestion was too impractical to implement.
'Religion, with proper application, can make us a better country. Our problem is not (mainly) religion; it is that politicians and our elites are addicted to money.
'We have entrusted our ruling class with curbing corruption, but they will not do that because they also like a lot of money,' he said.
Earlier today, FMT reported Johan as saying that Malay leaders often projected a keen sense of religiosity, but consistently scored low on clean governance measures.
He said these politicians used race and religion to 'shield, justify or deflect wrongdoing'.
Johan also said the Malays remained entrenched in a 'feudal mindset, where loyalty to race, religion, and rulers supersedes critical thinking and moral accountability'.
However, Zaid said Malaysian politics was about making money, and that its elites 'compete (about) who makes more money from the system'.
He said the lack of a genuine political funding law or measures to ensure transparency in procurement showed the elites' disinterest in curbing corruption.
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