As we enter the season of contemplation and reflection, why do some nations of the world choose to engage in corruption, even in sport?

After the Panama corruption scandal and other serious allegations of corruption in football, the latest in the series comes a long way from South Korea. The country’s President, Park Geun-hye, is facing impeachment and prosecution over allegations of corruption and influence-peddling. She has been paralysed by a bizarre scandal and an escalating public backlash that could make her the first South Korean leader to be removed from office.

But even as her approval rating slips into the low single digits, Park is being defiant, meaning that South Korea’s worst crisis in decades is likely to drag on for months, leaving her conservative government distracted and in disarray as it grapples with a slowing economy and rising debt.

In China too, State-controlled capitalism and corruption have led to the demise of the communist ideal of a classless society. While some 800 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty in the last few decades, the economic reforms have produced a new underclass of low-paid urban workers, including migrants from the country’s rural areas.

Ever since the introduction of the market economy, Chinese corruption has expanded in such a way it is now a top concern of every Chinese citizen.  At the core of the corrupt culture are wealthy businessmen, State monopolies, private property developers and government officials.

Why do people in high positions persist in embracing corrupt ideals? Why don’t they realise that enough is enough?  Citizens choose their representatives and elect democratic governments to lead them by example and not by the law of the jungle.

It is absolutely imperative that the rule of law be observed by every democratically-elected government and this includes the government of Malta too.