"I had two ways: The first: it is to steal and put my friends and relatives on the Forbes lists, while leaving my people on the bare earth. The Second: It is to serve my people and bring the country into the top ten countries of the world. I chose the second..."

Lee Kuan Yew, Father of the Singaporean Nation

The International Anti-Corruption Day was declared by the UN General Assembly (resolution of November 21, 2003), which has been celebrated annually on December 9 since 2004. On this day in 2003, the UN Convention against Corruption was opened for signature in Mexico. The purpose of establishing this International Day, as stated in the General Assembly resolution, was to increase understanding of the problem of corruption and the role of the Convention in preventing and combating corruption.

Corruption is a criminal activity based on the abuse of official powers. The corruption process always has two sides - the person giving the bribe and the person taking the bribe. Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that, to varying degrees, affects all countries. Corruption destroys democratic institutions, slows down economic development and undermines state institutions. Corruption is seen as a serious obstacle to the healthy development of society, a social evil that requires intervention and elimination. However, an effective fight against this negative phenomenon is impossible without a sufficiently complete and accurate knowledge of its essence, specific conditions and consequences. For many centuries, states have been taking various measures to combat corruption, but the most effective of them have not yet been found, and this phenomenon continues to be an acute problem today.

The term "corruption" comes from the Latin word "corrumpere" - bribery. It acquired its modern meaning in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. At the international level, the term received its normative expression in the resolution "Practical Measures to Combat Corruption", prepared by the Secretariat of the 8th UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in Havana in August-September 1990. The resolution refers to "ethical (moral), disciplinary, administrative and criminal offenses involving the unlawful use by the subject of corruption of his or her official position.

Any form of corruption presupposes the presence of a person who can dispose of resources that do not belong to him or her by making or not making certain decisions. If this person is a civil servant, we are dealing with corruption in the state; if this person is an employee of a commercial or public organization, we may deal with corruption in the non-state sector. The forms of corruption in the civil service are very diverse.

They may manifest themselves in one form or another:

fees under lucrative contracts in the form of payment for alleged consulting services, setting exorbitant fees for publications or lectures;

official fraud and other forms of theft;

receiving "commissions" for placing government contracts;

providing various services and other "favors" to government officials

trips to foreign business trips, vacations and medical treatment at the expense of partners interested in solving issues;

hidden extortion of bribes, including illegal fees, for accelerated resolution of issues and issuance of documents;

extortion of bribes from drivers by traffic safety officers;

employment of relatives, friends and acquaintances;

receiving bribes by managers from subordinates, etc.

"It is easy to start by preaching high moral principles, strong convictions and the best intentions to eradicate corruption. But to live up to those good intentions is difficult."

Lee Kuan Yew

Types of corruption:

·       domestic corruption is generated by the interaction between ordinary citizens and officials. It includes various gifts from citizens and favors to an official and his/her family members. This category also includes nepotism (nepotism);

·       business corruption occurs in the interaction between the authorities and business. For example, in the case of a business dispute, the parties may seek the support of a judge in order to obtain a ruling in their favor;

·       High power corruption refers to the political leadership and supreme courts in democratic systems. It concerns groups in power whose unscrupulous behavior consists of implementing policies in their own interests and to the detriment of their constituents.

«The main area on which the Prime Minister focused his efforts was the fight against corruption. At that time, nepotism and bribery were rampant in Singapore, as in most Southeast Asian countries. It was decided to fight it with two principles: inevitable punishment and equality before the law for all, regardless of nationality and position in society. Everyone, including high-ranking politicians, was held responsible for participation in corruption schemes. The authorities created a special body, the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which reported directly to Lee Kuan Yew and had unlimited powers to investigate crimes. Huge fines were imposed for such offenses, even for concealing information about a corrupt act, the perpetrator faced a fine of more than ten thousand dollars. In the process of eradicating corruption in Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew showed that everyone is equal before the law. In addition to harsh punishments and exemplary arrests, an important decision of Lee Kuan Yew in the process of fighting corruption in Singapore was a significant increase in salaries of civil servants. The income of officials rose to eight hundred thousand dollars a year, and judges - up to a million dollars. With salaries at the level of top managers of global corporations, it became unprofitable for civil servants to risk their positions and freedom for the sake of bribes. Today, Singaporean officials are among the highest paid in the world. The results of Lee Kuan Yew's labors are best illustrated by numbers. During his reign, Singapore's GDP grew by about nine percent annually, and today it reaches 400 billion dollars. The country is in 11th place in the Human Development Index, surpassing the United States and the United Kingdom. For many years Singapore has been among the top ten countries in the world with the lowest level of corruption, and in 2021 the country has reached the fifth place in this indicator, ahead of Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland».

The Singapore Story. Lee Kuan Yew.

Department of propaedeutics of children’s diseases

translated Ismoilov R.