The case of the embezzlement of RM100 million from the Youth and Sports Ministry is one of the most disgusting examples of greed in our political system to date.
It’s still only an allegation, but we’ll assume for now that it’s true. We’re taking our cue from Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is on record as saying that it was a flaw in the system that allowed the official to get away with the crime for six years.
Under pressure from the public, Khairy has been forced to explain how his ministry allowed the man to essentially steal RM100 million from the youth and athletes of the nation under his nose, undoing much of the goodwill the ministry had earned through vigorous youth outreach initiatives.
MACC officers said they seized RM20 million worth of assets from the officer, including 12 vehicles and 69 bank accounts that hold RM8.3 million. The mind shudders at the thought of just how many more such cases there are in our broken system.
What this really amounts to is a betrayal of the youth and the sportsmen of this country by someone clearly not quite qualified to be in the Youth Ministry. He’s 56 years old.
When we hear stories of students scraping for money so they can eat in their shared rooms and athletes forced to turn to crowdfunding to get to and from practice and to get proper nutrition, this news comes as a sickening gut blow to the youth.
Many people have a certain stereotype in mind when they picture millennials – constantly on Twitter, renting a place in the city or living with their parents still, working at a job more for so-called “passion” than for the financial benefit. But the truth is that those are merely the millennials who are visible. Millennials are a varied class, and there are many of them who are not on Twitter and who don’t drink RM15 lattes in swank cafes. They spend their time working at whatever transient jobs are open to them just to survive.
And society spits on them and calls them dregs.
And what about our athletes? There have been so many stories of athletes and former athletes who needed that little bit of help and never received it, the funds lost in the system. The Youth and Sports Ministry has made strides since Khairy took charge, but a case like this is nonetheless proof that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Khairy, there are a lot of young people who look up to you and even take you as a role model. They aren’t interested in politics, but are just looking for that one bright spark, that guiding light in a world that often seems to be against them or at least doesn’t look upon them with concern. Show them you care, and end this culture in your ministry in a way that makes it an example. Show us that the future of the country and its glory are safeguarded from the greed of men who have a little power and no morals.