No Nonsense
Anti-corruption crusade and the crusader
MY visit to Bangladesh at this time of the year is a deviation from the past -- all past visits were taken around Christmas and English New Year festivities.
This off-routine trip has aroused some curiosity in a few close relatives and friends. Many were whispering whether I was on a mission to land a position of special assistant to somebody. Others were wondering if I would be meeting the chief adviser, chief election commissioner, and the army chief. Their hunch is based on my opinions in my column that appear in The Daily Star week after week.
They reject the fact that columnists, either in Bangladesh or in the US, rarely become anything other than press secretaries to presidents and prime ministers. I reminded them that I was neither an assistant to the deputy assistant US secretary of state nor an assistant to an EU official or an assistant to foreign aid agencies (WB, IMF and ADB).
However, they were visibly shaken when I told them that I met a different chief, one who would be remembered by the honest and the corrupt alike for his enthusiasm and commitment in carrying out a job that many consider "mission impossible."
What is commonly talked about, both at home and abroad, is that the ACC Chairman Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury's (HMC) anti-corruption crusade is out of the ordinary. Who would visit a district headquarter to institute a corruption awareness and prevention committee, and then lead a procession protesting against corruption (Example: Moulovibazar incident)? Last week, he completed organising the committees in all 64 districts, with branches at upazila level.
Despite the ACC's successful prosecution and arrest of many corrupt people, HMC has maintained a balance so as not to create a negative image that would threaten his safety or call for his removal.
My two and half hour long disquisition with HMC began with choices of fresh fruit juices followed by several fish and vegetables carte du jour on the dinner table, and then several different sumptuous homemade desserts. There was no meat products in the menu as I wished for a "vegefishian" -- a word I coined years ago.
With Mrs. Chowdhury sitting opposite me at the dinner table -- I told him off-the-cuff that "all informed and fair-minded people give you the full credit for your success while no one discredits you for your failures because failures are ascribed to factors and forces beyond your purview of power."
He believes that, given time and support from the people and the government, he will not only succeed in making a dent in the culture of corruption, he will also reverse the very "mindset" that spawns corruption.
"Though corruption has taken roots in our minds, maybe it will not remain in future," he told his audience while speaking at a views exchange meeting on corruption at the local pourasava auditorium in Moulvibazar.
He reminded his audience that corruption showed no signs of decline, even though pay scale was raised twice during the previous governments. People look for opportunities to bridge the gap between affordability and desirability. "It is mainly desire that tempts people to indulge in corrupt practices," he added.
HMC believes that people must have courage to resist corruption. "So, anti-graft slogans will have to be raised from mosques, madrashas, schools, and colleges. In the past, there was less risk and more gain in corruption. We will raise risk, reduce gain. We don't want to bear the bad reputation of corruption," he further added.
Although we delved into numerous issues, I forgot to ask him about the recent statement about going into alleged corruption in the army. I also forgot to ask him how he would proceed to combat corruption in academic institutions.
While sipping coffee at the final phase of our "get to know" meeting, Mrs. Chowdhury was telling me about an incident.
They were stuck in a traffic jam immediately behind a flagged VIP car. The siren in the VIP's security escort vehicle was blaring non-stop, even though the traffic jam was nearly a quarter mile long.
HMC got out of his car and asked the VIP's security escort to put off the siren and they complied. Minutes later, the siren started blaring again. This time he went to the VIP's car and politely addressed the occupant: "Sir, what's the purpose of setting the siren on when there is no traffic movement?"
He cannot explain why the CTG advisers don't make trips to the countryside and meet real people.
He told me that asking for advisers' asset disclosures (which is within his power) would destabilise the CTG. I wanted to (but I didn't) tell him that the ACC needs to set precedents to do the same when political governments take over.
We talked about the formation of the Truth Commission (waiting on the CA's desk for signature). He believes that the Commission will help expedite resolution of many cases and lessen the burden of court time and costs while preserving its non-discriminatory character vis-the à-vis the cases already prosecutesd
He clearly sees the crusade against corruption as a continuing process involving three time frames -- prosecuting the past corrupt, netting the presently corrupt, and deterring the would-be corrupt. Therefore, whoever heads the ACC must command unreserved cooperation of all concerned -- politicians, civil servants, businessmen, and common citizens. I assured him that future political governments, for their own reputation, will remain under pressure to keep ACC above partisan considerations.
HMC wanted to know how I changed my academic pursuit from physics to nuclear engineering and then to economics. I told him that I would spend my retired life in Bangladesh (in about 6 years) giving seminars in colleges and universities on special topics on a weekly basis, volunteering my services in local governments in some capacity and, of course, writing my column in The Daily Star unless I lose interest or run out of ideas.
I was taken aback to find Chairman Mashhud responding to anything I wanted to know, and then some. His openness and fearless disclosures of many stories has shaken me to wonder: "What if I fail to preserve the contents of my meeting with him?" He relieved me from that burden by giving me the freedom to tell my story in my way.
Looking back, I am wondering, if I will ever meet such a high official, so candid, so friendly, and above all a patriot -- a true patriot in the true sense of the term.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments