These unsavoury facts were released by TI keeping the International Day for Resisting Corruption, which fell on December 9, in view. The survey was conducted in 62 countries of the world by Gallup International, in which about 60 thousand people gave their opinions. According to TI, corruption is impacting on the lives of common people in many ways and that one of the common features in these countries is that public representatives are quick to give many promises before elections, but they never keep those once they are elected to power.

In the survey, respondents gave emphasis on the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption. By this time 150 countries have signed the Convention and 80 countries have ratified it. For some strange reason Bangladesh has not ratified the Convention. Now the questions that pop up in our minds are: i) Why did the survey not say anything specifically about corruption in Bangladesh, which had come out at the top on five occasions and ii) why did Bangladesh not ratify the UN Convention?

Dr. Iftekharuzzaman of TIB tells us that Bangladesh was not brought under the gamut of this survey. Nevertheless, he said that the findings were quite consistent with the challenges facing us. And as said earlier, for strange, unknown reasons the Convention was not ratified by the politicians in power, though they were quick to denounce all reports of TI that painted Bangladesh as the most corrupt country in the world. In view of the importance of making the instrument effective, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has urged all the politicians to pledge during their polls campaign that Bangladesh would ratify the Convention against corruption this time around.

As Bangladeshis, such reports did hurt us badly. Therefore, our question to the politicians: Why did you not ratify the Convention when you had the power to do so? Was it because you did not see any corrupt people around you? Or was it that corruption had suddenly vanished from the blood of those dubious characters in this country? Have the health sector, education sector, transport sector, banking sector, aviation, police, politics and bureaucracy all on a sudden gotten purged of the corrupt-to-the-bone people? If not, then why did you not wage a war against corruption by eliminating such elements from your government and from the administration, thereby creating a laudable example of good governance? Does not checking corruption always remain at the top of your (of all the political parties) election manifesto? Is it not the same song you people sing come election time?

Strangely indeed, throughout the years while in the opposition politicians try their best to draw the attention of the voters with impressive statistics of corruption of the sitting MPs and ministers. But when in power they take no initiative to take action against them or such elements in their own party. They do not even want to make the Anti-corruption Commission properly functional. The reasons are blatantly obvious. They want the rule of the unruly to continue so that politicians who are worth ten taka could become millionaires in five years. It is the only profession in the world, as the TI report reinforces, that shamelessly thrives on corruption. So, if corruption pays handsome dividends, why eliminate it?

We have witnessed in last fifteen years how politicians have dragged the good name of the country to dirt level. In the name of upholding the spirit of the constitution; human rights; strengthening the democratic institutions and good governance, these politicians have destroyed one institution after another; rampantly violated human rights; made parliament ineffective, thereby destroying all the chances of consolidating democracy in the country. Today, the nation is sitting on a keg of gunpowder waiting to be blown apart, and none else but the corrupt politicians are responsible for it.

At the risk of sounding quite pessimistic, we are forced to say that there is no hope in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel really. If the next election is held at all then nothing would change. Only the old merry band of looters, or a new band, will come to power and ravage the country with their ravenous hunger. The desire for competent, honest and patriotic people coming to power, as reflected in the recommendations of the citizens' dialogues, is but a far-fetched dream. Therefore, we have to brace ourselves to see more of the rule of the unruly in the years to come. That is not good news at all for a country that has so much of untapped resources and hidden potential to develop like Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore. And where were these countries thirty years ago? And where are we heading for? How long will the rule of the unruly continue?

Shahnoor Wahid is Senior Assistant Editor of The Daily Star.