According to
principle or precepts of the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 188, to
accept a bribe or to do it is absolutely forbidden and considered a sin. In the
case of Lockheed's Mr. A. Carl Kotchian actions concerning bribery to get
contracts from governments, especially for the case of Japan, it is a battle of
morality and survival of the fundamental aspects of the society. Parallel to
the view of Quran, which is also the basis for the moral point of view of
Islam, the action of Mr. Kotchian was categorically and fundamentally wrong,
bar none.
But there are important issues that
should be considered in this judgment. First, Mr. Kotchian's argument that if
Lockheed would have failed to get the Japan aircraft contract, it would result
to laying off of several workers and the decline of the company. It is
interesting to note that Mr. Kotchian's argument is not just financial and
business-relative in nature, but also moral in character. With its wide
employment pool, a layoff would not just affect a single family, but an entire
community or an entire economy. If the bribe was not made, layoffs would happen
and children would go hungry, and worst, families would be broken. However, the
action of Mr. Kotchian and Lockheed caused tremendous disadvantage to other
competitors. The argument of Mr. Kotchian is defeated by the same moral
argument of competitors; the families and communities of their workers still
suffer the same fate as what Mr. Kotchian feared for their's.
In the same manner, the end result
of Mr. Kotchian's action did not just cause an impact on a single person, Mr.
Tanaka, the former prime minister of Japan. As a result, the entire country was
affected and put into a level of insecurity and instability. The action, which
was deemed necessary for the survival of some people, also caused the breakdown
of the Japanese society.
Yet, in the end the punishments
meted on Mr. Kotchian are justified. The action of Mr. Kotchian was bind to the
decision of the company, and not to him alone. And for such, his actions did
not benefit him (as he was not getting the bribe) alone, but it provided a
positive on Lockheed and the entire network under it including families and
communities.
