Forest, environment and climate change minister Abdul Awal Mintu said: “Our politicians’ job is to give speeches. Government employees’ job is to do some stealing and some work — it can’t all go one way. But we want society to change in step with today’s technology, so that our children can, in future, lead lives that are meaningful for them.”
He made the remarks as chief guest on Tuesday afternoon at a discussion meeting in Lakshmipur with government officials and representatives of various professions, on law and order, anti-corruption efforts, drug control and development activities. The meeting was held in the hall room of the deputy commissioner’s office.
The minister said: “We have been given the responsibility of developing society and the country, which includes socio-economic development. There is also the task of curbing corruption. I don’t know who commits corruption, but corruption does happen in our society. If I were to engage in corruption, I would do it through you all [government officials]. Say, for instance, I took money from a contractor — I would take it through you. So I would request that, until we can prevent corruption, we keep trying. Corruption will always exist to some degree; the question is only how much. Preventing corruption is our foremost responsibility.”
The meeting was chaired by Deputy Commissioner S M Mehedi Hasan. Special guests included Lakshmipur-2 MP Abul Khair Bhuiyan, Lakshmipur-1 MP Shahadat Hossain Selim, and District Superintendent of Police Md Abu Tarek, among others.