Hong Kong's Competitive Advantage : A Clean Society
Hong Kong's Competitive Advantage : A Clean Society
Hong Kong is probably the only place in the world which has a "zero tolerance" policy towards corruption. But former Deputy ICAC Commissioner, Tony M.W. Kwok warns continued vigilance is needed in the face of increasingly sophisticated forms of corruption.
Corruption is a secret crime and is regarded as one of the most difficult crimes to investigate. With the success of the Independent Commission Against Corruption in its enforcement for so many years, those who are corrupt these days have become more sophisticated and many have employed professionals like lawyers and accountants to help them in covering up the trails of their misdeeds. There is now a greater need to strike a balance between human rights and law enforcement. One example is the "right of silence" which is considered as an absolute human right in Hong Kong. Unfortunately from experience, the people who take the greatest advantage of this right are the criminals and their lawyers.
In many other countries, this right is no longer absolute. For example, Singapore does not allow legal access during the first few hours of detention and Japan does not allow lawyer's presence at all during the suspect's interview.
In Hong Kong, the first thing a lawyer would do when he represents a suspect is to tell him to exercise the right of silence! Even the United Kingdom, the origin of the right of silence, has adopted a new form of caution to the suspect, to require them to provide a proper explanation at the time of the arrest.
Hong Kong's legal profession must be prepared to give up its self-interest and learn from the good practice in other countries, if we want to make Hong Kong a truly clean society.
Probably due to the financial downturn, there is an indication that the ethical standards of professionals has deteriorated during recent years. This is particularly obvious in the construction sector, where some professionals have failed to live up to their position of trust in certifying the propriety of construction work, resulting in a number of scandalous shortcomings.
In the financial sector, accountants, fund managers and bank managers have been discovered to be in breach of trust.
In other cases, medical practitioners and lawyers were found to have been also involved in fraud and corruption. It is necessary for the professional associations to strengthen their measures in ensuring a high degree of professional ethics amongst their members.
Despite the promotional work of the ICAC, most companies in Hong Kong do not have a serious interest in anti-corruption efforts in their own companies. They still have this outdated concern of "don't wash your dirty linen in public" and some even turn a blind eye to any reports of suspicion. Many end up with regrets as corruption within an organization can cause major financial damage.
In the United States, after the Enron scandal, the U.S. government is now promoting the concept that every company should have an ethics development officer to ensure business integrity in the organization.
Hong Kong, as a pioneer in anti-corruption work, must ensure that we are not left behind. Most companies have in place internal auditors, security managers, and even industrial safety officers to protect the company's investment and the staff's safety. It makes good sense to create the position of anti-corruption officer to formulate and recommend to the management comprehensive strategies on corruption prevention and business ethics and subsequently to oversee the implementation and detection of possible wrongdoings.
We can also introduce a certificate system similar to the ISO 9000, to require initially all publicly listed companies to comply with set standards in having anti-corruption measures and code of ethics in place.
Imagine if every company in Hong Kong has an anti-corruption officer and has obtained a recognized certificate of compliance in ethical standards, Hong Kong would be leading the rest of the world as being the cleanest place to do business.
To be a World Class City means that we should be a world leader. This competitive advantage will make Hong Kong a truly World Class City where no other city can match.