PEOPLE who flaunt wealth they cannot seemingly afford, without embarrassment over how it was acquired, reflect a worrying erosion of values in society, banking veteran Tan Sri Azman Hashim said.
Speaking in his capacity as the newly appointed Chancellor of Open University Malaysia (OUM) during its 31st Convocation Ceremony at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Azman warned that corruption was not just a financial crime but a threat to the moral values of the next generation.
He called for integrity education to begin in schools, saying children must learn early that wrongdoing cannot be excused, regardless of who commits it.
Teachers have an important role in instilling those values and helping children understand that no one should be above the principles of right and wrong, he said.
“There is no tolerance for corruption. What is unacceptable? It remains unacceptable,” he said.
Azman questioned how some people in salaried employment could afford several houses, luxury cars and annual overseas holidays, saying such lifestyles raised questions when they appeared inconsistent with their earnings.
What concerned him was not only the apparent gap between income and spending, but also the lack of shame among those who displayed their wealth.
“There is no longer any sense of shame here. Shame. But today, what is there to be ashamed of? What? There is no shame at all,” he said.
He then turned to a familiar national slogan to make his point about the reach of corruption.
“We used to be very proud and say, ‘Malaysia boleh’. Today, it is ‘Malaysia, everything also boleh’. Why? Because with corruption, everything is possible,” he said.
Azman also cited Tabung Haji, where Muslims place their savings towards performing the haj, as an example of the trust institutions must uphold.
Depositors entrust their money to such institutions for an important personal and religious purpose. Any misconduct involving those funds raises questions about the responsibility of those charged with protecting them, he said.
“Where are our morals? Where are our values?” he asked.
He expressed deep concern over the normalisation of graft across public and corporate spheres.
He stressed that graft is no longer an isolated issue but has become “endemic,” seeping deeply into social systems, culture, and daily practices.
Azman said the answer to corruption must begin with teaching young people to recognise and reject wrongdoing, rather than allowing wealth, status or influence to determine what society is prepared to accept. – October 20, 2026