Thursday, June 21, 2007

Democracy versus Kleptocracy?

I had a good laugh last night! (Had a meeting last night). Thank you to Ameena. She was refering to the current issue in Thailand politics (Thaksin is urged by the authority to come back 'home' or face the consequences!).

She then posed this question: "How about here? In Malaysia?", to which I responded, "I dont know!"

There is this terminology, known as "kleptocracy" which means "Rule by thieves, a label sometimes applied to authoritarian regimes in which corruption (there are many forms of corruption, mind you!) reaches extraordinary levels and enormous amounts in public funds are siphoned off by top officials for their own enrichment."

The scenario can be seen anywhere, not necessarily in terms of government regimes. Hence, a non-political organisation - including a public university - can be as mean as a corrupt government! Look who's who in the cabinet line up!