第一届廉正大会在7月16日于双威会议中心举行。这是首次由民间主办的全国性反贪污大会,主题为“贪污——最弱的一环”。宗旨在于为关心人士提供一个应对贪污危机的平台,以响应首相的反贪呼吁。这次大会由马来西亚基督徒大学毕业生团契(Graduate Christian Fellowship Malaysia, 简称GCF)和东方心智研究学会(Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute,简称OHMSI)联合主办,并由大马福音联谊会(NECF)赞助。共有400余人参加,其中多为基督徒。
Before I entered the workforce as a civil engineer in the construction field, I was told that I would be rich in no time. What was implied was that in this area of work, receiving bribes is a norm. Overlooking less than satisfactory work, gaining favour for new contracts or expediting progress payment and you will be rewarded with monetary or pleasurable gains. In my years of work, this was considered a common and acceptable industry culture. Going against these ingrained culture is challenging, and it provided plenty of opportunities to put my faith to test.
Through the years as I took a stand to trust God in each of these situations, I was not disappointed. God is faithful to His word that He will deliver us if we obey Him in the conduct of our work and business. As more of us, businessmen, become a shining light in our own corner of this industry, it will impact those who expect to be bribed to think twice before they solicit bribes. Kingdom values of honesty, integrity and best practice will become more evident in the marketplace.
When we decided to sell off our company in 2013, there were offers from some public and private entities. A company accepted the price that we quoted and asked us to add a few millions to it and to pass back half of the inflated price back to him. This was a no-no for us. We finally sold at a lower price to another company that had used our building system for a few of their housing development projects. Money was not our main consideration. Pleasing God is. A good name is better than great riches (Proverbs 22:1).
I worked with the new company till 2017 as the condition of the sale. Our Precast Concrete Tilt-up System of construction of houses was awarded the best Industrial Building System (IBS) in Malaysia in 2016 while I was still with the company.
People tell us that we can never make it in business, unless we follow the ways of the world. But our company has shown that by adopting no bribe policy throughout our tenure, we can not only thrive but prosper as God says “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord……whatever he does prosper (Psalm 1:1-3)