Forum
Details
DAY ONE
Thursday, 28 April 2005
8.30am
Arrival and Registration of Delegates
Morning Coffee/Tea & Informal Networking
9.00am
WELCOME REMARKS
- Datuk Dr. Sulaiman Mahbob
President, Integrity Institute of Malaysia
- Dato’ Dr Michael Yeoh
Chief Executive Officer & Director, Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI)
- Tunku Abdul AzizTunku Ibrahim, Director, International Institute of Public Ethics / Former Vice Chairman, Transparency International
OPENING ADDRESS
“National Integrity Plan"
Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia/ Chairman, Integrity Institute of Malaysia
SESSION ONE
“Strengthening Ethics, Upholding Integrity, Enhancing Public Governance"
9.35am
Moderator:
Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia / Chairman, Integrity Institute of Malaysia
Speakers:
- Professor Charles Sampford, President, International Institute of Public Ethics, Australia
- Mr Bertrand de Speville, Anti-Corruption and Governance Consultant to World Bank and UNDP / Former Commissioner, Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption, UK
- Mr Martin Polaine, Senior Lawyer (Secondment), Independent Police Complaints Commission, United Kingdom
- Rep from Canada
Morning Refreshments/Informal Networking
SESSION TWO
“Winning the War Against Corruption – Sharing International Best Practices"
11.00am
Moderator:
Tan Sri Dato’ Zaki Tun Azmi, Member of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission/ Partner, M/s Rashid & Lee
Speakers:
- Dato’ Dr Anwar Fazal, Director, Citizens International, Malaysia
- Mr Chua Cher Yak, Director, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, Singapore
- Mr Hae-yong Song, Standing Commissioner, Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption, Korea
- Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor, Director-General, Anti-Corruption Agency, Malaysia
SPECIAL LUNCHEON KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
“The Power of Ethical Leadership”
12.30pm
Moderator:
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid, Chairman, Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Malaysia
Speakers:
- H.E. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Minister Mentor / Former Prime Minister of Singapore
- Tan Sri Dato’ Musa Hitam, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia / Founding Chairman of Human Rights Commission, Malaysia
Dialogue & Q&A
1.55pm
Lunch
SESSION THREE
“Building Ethical Values and Accountability – Role of Education, Media and Civil Society”
2.45pm
Moderator:
Datuk Abdul Kadir Jasin, Editor-in-Chief, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
Speakers:
- Prof. Dr Muhammad Kamal Hassan, Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia
- Dr Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Director for Program and Research, The Habibie Center, Indonesia
- Mr Peter Schier, Representative to Malaysia, Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, Germany
- Mr Hiroshi Ishida, Executive Director, Caux Round Table, Japan
SESSION FOUR
“Enhancing Business Ethics, Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility"
4.00pm
Moderator:
Dato’ Seri Megat Najmuddin Khas, President, Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance
Speakers:
- Mr Tay Kay Luan Head, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Malaysia
- Mr Ranjit Ajit Singh, Director, Securities Commission, Malaysia
- Mr Ian Buchanan, Chairman, Booz Allen & Hamilton (Australia) Ltd
- Mr M.K. Chouhan, Chairman-Mahendra & Young Knowledge Foundation, Bombay, Vice- Chairman-Global Advisory Board-Asian Centre for Corporate Governance & Chairman, Indian Merchants’ Chamber, Corporate Governance Committee, India
- Mr Stephen B. Young, Global Executive Director, Caux Round Table, USA
End of Day One
8:00 pm
Welcome Dinner Reception (subject to confirmation)
DAY TWO
Friday, 29 April 2005
8.30am
Arrival and Registration of Delegates/Morning Coffee/Tea & Informal Networking
9.15am
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS:
Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia/ Chairman, Integrity Institute of Malaysia
9.30am
SPECIAL KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
“INTEGRITY- THE BASIS OF GOOD GOVERNANCE”
The Hon. Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi,
Prime Minister of Malaysia
10.30am
Morning Refreshments
SESSION FIVE
“Building On The National Integrity System”
11.00am
Moderator:
Tan Sri Datuk Seri Abdul Gani Patail, Attorney General, Attorney General’s Chambers, Malaysia
Speakers:
- Mr Khoo Boon Hui, Commissioner of Police, Singapore
- Datin Paduka Hajjah Dayang Intan Haji Md. Kassim, Director, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Negara Brunei Darussalam
- Mr Jeremy Pope, Co-Director, The Tiri Network / Former Managing Director, Transparency International
12.30pm
Lunch/Friday Prayer
OPEN FORUM & DIALOGUE
"Accountability and Transparency in Public & Private Sector”
2.45pm
Moderator:
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Ramon V Navaratnam, Group Corporate Adviser, The Sunway Group /Director, ASLI, Malaysia
Speakers:
- Tan Sri Dr Hadenan Abdul Jalil, Auditor-General of Malaysia
- Dr Klaus-Henning Busse, Member, German Federal Audit Court, Germany
- Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy, President, Transparency International, Malaysia
- Mr Brian Grainger, Member & Co-Founder, Ethics’ Practitioners Association of Canada (EPAC)
- Dato’ Mustafa Mansor, President, Federation of Malaysian Manufactures (FMM)
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
4.15pm
“Ethics, Leadership & Trust”
Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim, Director, International Institute of Public Ethics/ Former Vice Chairman, Transparency International
CLOSING CEREMONY
4.45pm
YB Datuk Shafie Apdal, Minister of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs, Malaysia
5.00pm
Refreshments
End of Forum
Speech from Mr. Peter Schier
Building Ethical Values and Accountability - The Role of Education, Media and Civil Society
INTRODUCTION
Kopiwosian - Om Shanti - Ping An - Shalom – Salam or Pax Tecum – Assalamu’alaikum.
The various greetings with which I have just addressed you only have one meaning: “Peace be with you”.
Peace, or non-violence, is indeed one of the key values shared by the different faiths and cultures on Earth. Yet, throughout human history, very often humankind has been more at conflict and war with each other than living in peace together. Maybe this is why most human civilizations have created specific greetings of peace and are using them, at least verbally, every day:
“Kopiwosian” is the peace greeting of one of the oldest civilizations and belief systems in Malaysia, the Kadazan-Dusun culture in Sabah;
“Om Shanti” is the peace greeting of the believers in Hinduism;
“Ping An” in Chinese civilization;
“Shalom” in Judaism
“Salam” and later “Pax Tecum” in Christianity, and
“Assalamu’alaikum” is the Islamic greeting of peace.
THE NEED TO PROMOTE COMMON ETHICAL STANDARDS
There can be no doubt about the fact that media, civil society and education CAN play a very important role in promoting ethical standards, moral values and accountability in society. Ideally speaking, media, civil society and education SHOULD play a prominent role in advocating good morals and ethics like integrity and honesty, and, as a practical consequence, the fight against corruption.
However, the actual role of the media, civil society and education in this regard depends heavily on the political will of those in power and on the political system in place. For example, if there is no true press freedom it will be difficult or even impossible for the media to investigate corruption and to promote the fight against it. Or, if there is no respective political will, primary and secondary school teachers will not be able and willing to teach common values and common concerns of the different faiths and cultures in a multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.
Here, we have arrived at a very crucial question: What kind of ethical standards and moral values are we going to promote? Should we only promote the ethic of the majority in a given country, i.e. Islamic ethic in Malaysia and Christian ethic in Germany, or should we, instead, promote those values which are shared by all faiths and cultures living in that country? This issue is, at present, hotly debated in Germany and, to a limited extent, in Malaysia, too. In fact, it is a global issue which concerns any multi-cultural country.
In my view, multi-ethnic and multi-religious countries as well as the globalizing world community of states do all need a set of shared values which have been commonly agreed upon in order to function in a stable and peaceful way. Without generally recognized common ethical standards any society is threatened sooner or later by chaos or by dictatorship. Profit and other material values alone cannot substitute a fundamental consensus of moral values and ethical standards in order to hold societies together in a sustainable manner. In the context of rampant materialism the need of a set of common values for humankind to live together in peace and stability is becoming more and more apparent.
Throughout human history, all religious and most non-religious belief systems have provided humankind with the most basic rules of humane coexistence:
“Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated” (i.e. the famous GOLDEN RULE which is found in every religion and in most non-religious belief systems).
“Every human being must be treated humanely”.
“Do not kill” or “Have respect for life”, i.e. commit yourself to non-violence.
“Do not steal” or “Deal honestly and fairly”.
Do not lie” or “Speak and act truthfully”.
“Do not commit sexual immorality” or “Respect and love one another” in a true and equal partnership.
These fundamental common values of the different faiths had been adopted in the form of the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic by the Parliament of the World’s Religions on 4 September 1993. Thereby for the first time in human history, representatives of the different religions and faiths agreed on a set of common moral values and ethical standards which are shared by all of them. Never before in the history of religions had this happened! Herein lies the tremendous significance of the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic for the future of humankind. In the Malaysian context it is important to note that this Declaration had been signed by prominent Malaysians, too, namely by Tan Sri Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, the Chairman of IKIM and also by the Dato’ Dr. Ismail Ibrahim, currently the Chairman of the National Fatwa Council.
With regard to the issue of promoting accountability, transparency and integrity in order to fight corruption all the major faiths share the view that corruption is sinful and equivalent to stealing other people’s money and lying to the public. No world religion, no faith and no non-religious belief system allows stealing and lying!
Let me quote some of the most outstanding religious and non-religious leaders of humankind to prove this point:
The Prophet of Islam Muhammad clearly stated that “it is bribery to give gifts to an officer (in return for a favour)”. He even predicted that “the one who gives bribes and the one who is bribed will be in hell”.
About 1,000 years earlier, the famous Chinese philosopher and statesman Confucius had already said: “Wealth gained by unrighteousness will not last.” And, he added: “As for the wise, when they aspire to wealth, they acquire it by honest and ethical means.”
Even earlier, the famous Taoist philosopher Laotze had gone further, not only denouncing corruption but also unequal and unjust distribution and the failure to share. He stated: “To accumulate wealth and treasures in excess is equivalent to robbery and crime.”
The great Hindu politician Mahatma Gandhi once described seven “social sins of humankind” amongst them
“politics without (ethical) principles”,
“business without morality”, and
“wealth without work”
THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
Let me state very bluntly: Without a free but responsible media the project to build accountability, transparency and integrity and to fight against corruption will be doomed to failure.
In Germany, the majority of cases of gross misappropriation of public funds for private or political party purposes have been uncovered by the media and NOT by the audit authorities or by parliamentarians. This is all the more surprising as Germany is a very developed democratic country under the rule of law with a rather comprehensive structure of checks and balances. Yet, this outstanding role of the German free media shows that media freedom is a cornerstone to control those in power more effectively. Without any doubt, the free media in Germany has become the fourth separate power in the state which is complemented by the equally independent Federal and State Audit Courts as the fifth power in a rather elaborate structure of checks and balances.
To fight corruption we do not only need media freedom but also a qualified, responsible investigative journalism. Responsible investigative journalism is not only costly but can also become very dangerous. Therefore, we need wealthy and courageous publishers, too, who are not only committed but also in the material position to support investigative journalism.
Last but not least, we need training courses for journalists in responsible investigat ive journalism and in journalist ethical standards in general. A journalist without good moral values and not guided by good ethical standards cannot do a responsible work. A recent example of this important aspect were the reports mainly in the Malay press about the initiative towards the setting-up of an Interfaith Commission in Malaysia. Most of these articles were one-sided, unjust and at least partly untrue. Both from a professional and ethical point of view, the by far worst articles were published in Harakah the publishers of which pretend to have very good morals and ethics but, in the case of reporting on the Interfaith Commission idea, they have not practised them at all.
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Like the media, civil society CAN and SHOULD, ideally, play a watchdog function with regard to promoting integrity and accountability and the fight against corruption.
In Germany, there is a vibrant civil society which promotes ethical values and accountability: Transparency International (an international NGO set up in Germany), the various political foundations like the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, religious organizations, charitable societies, many independent citizen’s groups etc.
According to German experiences there are several prerequisites for an effective watchdog function of civil society:
1. liberal Societies’ Act;
2. Supportive Registrars of Societies;
3. Supportive tax laws and supportive tax departments which make it not too difficult for truly philanthropical NGOs to get the status of a non-profit organization which does not need to pay taxes and which can get private and corporate financial support the amount of which the donors will be tax-exempt, too.
4. Responsible NGO leaders and staff who really live the values they are publicly promoting. How can we get these responsible NGO leaders and staff? Again, it is all about education and training.
THE ROLE OF EDUCATION
Pre-school education as well as primary and secondary education bear a heavy responsibility for the future of humanity because they influence considerably the thinking of the generations of the leaders and the people of tomorrow. Without any doubt, primary and secondary education have to play a very important role in educating our children in good morals and ethics.
In my view, early childhood education up to secondary education are the most important battlefields where to promote ethical standards and moral values like integrity, accountability etc. in a successful way, i.e. with a chance of a sustainable impact on the character-building of our children. But how can that be done effectively?
In a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country – and all our countries are becoming more and more multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious in the process of globalization – the teaching of common ethical standards and shared moral values has to address ALL students of the different ethnics and the different faiths and cultures TOGETHER in COMMON classes. However, if students are separated in different moral or religious classes in the schools, segregated according to their different ethnic and religious backgrounds, this would be a perfect recipe for social and national disunity and for a national moral and ethical disaster. We have been witnessing this phenomenon in a number of countries already.
In my view, in order to effectively promote and build common ethical standards and shared moral values in the education system we urgently need compulsory COMMON civic education classes which ALL students from the different ethnics and faiths have to attend and in which they will learn about the common values all humankind should share and live up to. I urge all responsible personalities in education to act responsible in the interest of our children and grand-children and address this issue not only with good words but also with good deeds!
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