Malam Sambat Kaban Quotes
The loggers are more powerful than we are …. There is bribery everywhere.
Malam Sambat Kaban, Forestry Minister of Indonesia, Secretary general of the Crescent Star Party, Explanation of why the government cannot prevent illegal logging which was destroying the forests of the country.
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Clark, after becoming one of the richest men in America, wanted to go into National Politics, but most people hated him so he could never win elected office. At the time, Montana selected their Senators by a vote of the State Legislature. So Clark bribed enough members of the legislature to become the Senator. However, the bribery scheme became a public scandal and the Senate refused to seat him. So the legislature had another vote in the next legislative session and Clark won again, and that time no one had the evidence of the bribes. But then, more about Clark became known, and he just served the one term.
He was expelled from Parliament for such.
This is a common rejoinder of third world country leaders to accusations of Western democracies about corruption. And doubtless it is true. However temptation has never been a good defense of improper behavior.
It took until the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt until monopolies were regulated. Like many of the rapacious businessmen of his era, bribery of public officials was so common that he had no problem admitting this to a reporter who was interviewing him. His father Cornelius, one of the great, creative industrialists of America, was not at all of the same mindset or the same corrupt character and saw corporations and the Railroads as having an important role in America with substantial obligations to the society which enabled the economic development and supported the railroads. He described his son as a “blockhead”. William goes down in American history as the arrogant industrialist and capitalist whose wealth was produced by his talent of being born to the right father who built the great empire. At that time the bribery of members of Congress was direct with cash going directly into their pockets, unlike modern times where it is indirect in the form of Campaign contributions.
Malem Sambat Ka'ban is an Indonesian politician who served as the Forestry Minister of Indonesia from 2004 to 2009. On 1 May 2005, he was appointed as the chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB).
