Culture of integrity – the best defence against graft
2015-9-4
Hong Kong’s anti-graft experience proves that a vibrant culture of integrity in the hearts and minds of members of the public is the best defence against corruption, said ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu at an international anti-corruption conference today (Friday).
Addressing the closing plenary session of the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) on “Grand Corruption: How to Stop the Corrupt Stealing from You and Me” in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Mr Peh said while the ICAC had committed to catching the corrupt without fear or favour since its inception in 1974, investigation was only one limb of its three-pronged strategy.
“From the outset, we realised that the war on corruption could only be won by changing the attitude as well as mindset of our citizens towards corruption. Hence, we have adopted an ‘Ethics for All’ approach to ensure that Hong Kong citizens, with integrity in minds, will resist corruption,” Mr Peh said.
He summarised this approach as the “IACC” formula – Integrating law enforcement with prevention and education to combat graft, Activating public support in graft fight, Collaborating with stakeholders of various sectors to spread anti-graft messages, and Customising preventive education services for different targets and sectors.
Mr Peh said through the effective implementation of the three-pronged strategy in the past 41 years, Hong Kong had witnessed a revolutionary change in public attitude towards corruption, and become one of the cleanest places in the world with a deep rooted probity culture.
According to the latest ICAC survey, only 1.5% of respondents said they had come across corruption in the past 12 months. On a rating scale of 0 to 10 where 0 represented total intolerance, the mean score of respondents’ tolerance of corruption was 1, representing a “near to zero” level of tolerance.
The ICAC is one of the founding members of the IACC, which provides a global forum for anti-corruption fighters and experts to exchange information and ideas about developments and strategies in the worldwide battle against corruption.
The three-day conference was attended by about 1,000 participants, including anti-graft specialists, academics, members of civil societies and representatives of government and private sectors from more than 130 countries, to exchange views on how best to tackle increasingly sophisticated challenges posed by corruption.
During his attendance at the IACC, Mr Peh also met with Ms Elena Panfilova, Vice-Chair of the Transparency International (TI), to update her on Hong Kong’s latest anti-corruption initiatives and probity situation.
The TI is a non-government organisation which monitors corruption in international development and conducts research on corruption issues worldwide, including its annual Corruption Perceptions Index.
Mr Peh told Ms Panfilova that by maintaining its integrity culture, the rule of law and independence of the ICAC, Hong Kong would continue to be one of the cleanest places in the world.
During the meeting, he also extended an invitation to Mr José Ugaz, Chair of the TI, to visit Hong Kong to see for himself the latest development of Hong Kong’s probity situation.
Meanwhile, ICAC’s Director of Corruption Prevention Tse Man-shing yesterday (Thursday) addressed a panel session of the conference on “Rooting out impunity and strengthening integrity in the construction sector”.
Mr Tse shared with the participants Hong Kong’s latest corruption prevention initiatives in relation to major infrastructure projects.
Mr Peh and Mr Tse will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (Saturday).
Addressing the closing plenary session of the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) on “Grand Corruption: How to Stop the Corrupt Stealing from You and Me” in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Mr Peh said while the ICAC had committed to catching the corrupt without fear or favour since its inception in 1974, investigation was only one limb of its three-pronged strategy.
“From the outset, we realised that the war on corruption could only be won by changing the attitude as well as mindset of our citizens towards corruption. Hence, we have adopted an ‘Ethics for All’ approach to ensure that Hong Kong citizens, with integrity in minds, will resist corruption,” Mr Peh said.
He summarised this approach as the “IACC” formula – Integrating law enforcement with prevention and education to combat graft, Activating public support in graft fight, Collaborating with stakeholders of various sectors to spread anti-graft messages, and Customising preventive education services for different targets and sectors.
Mr Peh said through the effective implementation of the three-pronged strategy in the past 41 years, Hong Kong had witnessed a revolutionary change in public attitude towards corruption, and become one of the cleanest places in the world with a deep rooted probity culture.
According to the latest ICAC survey, only 1.5% of respondents said they had come across corruption in the past 12 months. On a rating scale of 0 to 10 where 0 represented total intolerance, the mean score of respondents’ tolerance of corruption was 1, representing a “near to zero” level of tolerance.
The ICAC is one of the founding members of the IACC, which provides a global forum for anti-corruption fighters and experts to exchange information and ideas about developments and strategies in the worldwide battle against corruption.
The three-day conference was attended by about 1,000 participants, including anti-graft specialists, academics, members of civil societies and representatives of government and private sectors from more than 130 countries, to exchange views on how best to tackle increasingly sophisticated challenges posed by corruption.
During his attendance at the IACC, Mr Peh also met with Ms Elena Panfilova, Vice-Chair of the Transparency International (TI), to update her on Hong Kong’s latest anti-corruption initiatives and probity situation.
The TI is a non-government organisation which monitors corruption in international development and conducts research on corruption issues worldwide, including its annual Corruption Perceptions Index.
Mr Peh told Ms Panfilova that by maintaining its integrity culture, the rule of law and independence of the ICAC, Hong Kong would continue to be one of the cleanest places in the world.
During the meeting, he also extended an invitation to Mr José Ugaz, Chair of the TI, to visit Hong Kong to see for himself the latest development of Hong Kong’s probity situation.
Meanwhile, ICAC’s Director of Corruption Prevention Tse Man-shing yesterday (Thursday) addressed a panel session of the conference on “Rooting out impunity and strengthening integrity in the construction sector”.
Mr Tse shared with the participants Hong Kong’s latest corruption prevention initiatives in relation to major infrastructure projects.
Mr Peh and Mr Tse will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (Saturday).