Corruption in Malaysia Shows Little Improvement

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Corruption in Malaysia has barely inched forward over the last year, according to a global anti-corruption index that shows despite efforts by the government to fight graft, Malaysia remains stuck at the halfway point between being highly corrupt and squeaky clean

Malaysia ranked 53rd out of 177 countries in anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International’s latest corruption perceptions index, with a score of 50 on a scale of zero to 100, with 100 being very clean.

This year Malaysia tied with Turkey, and improved by one point over its 54th place ranking in 2012. Regionally it placed 3rd, behind Singapore at No. 5 and Brunei at No. 38, but fared far better than the Philippines (94) and neighboring Thailand (102) and Indonesia (114).

Indonesia’s rank improved by four places, while the Philippines jumped 11 spots to achieve its highest rank since 2004. Over the past year, however, both countries have been embroiled in a series of corruption cases involving past and present lawmakers and other high officials.
In September the Philippine Department of Justice filed graft and bribery complaints against several lawmakers for allegedly misusing public funds – often derisively referred to as pork barrel – intended for roads, bridges and the poor.

Indonesia’s anti-corruption commission, meanwhile, has detained a number of officials, including a top judge and the head of the country’s oil-and-gas regulator for alleged corruption following investigations.

Comparatively, Malaysia has done better. But the small bump in rank also underscores the challenge the Malaysian government faces in cutting corruption in one of Southeast Asia’s most developed economies.

Malaysia’s position continues to be in the mid-range average, indicating that while steps have been implemented under a government program launched in 2010 to reduce crime and fight corruption, the level of corruption in Malaysia has not significantly decreased.

“Stronger measures need to be enforced and must be taken to eliminate entrenched interests and processes that support abuse,” said Akhbar Satar, the head of Transparency International Malaysia.

In response to the index, Ravindran Devagunam, director of corruption prevention at government think-tank Pemandu said, “We are continuously working to fight graft, and that includes looking at amending the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act,” which allowed for the establishment of the country’s Anti-Corruption Agency.

Since taking office in 2009, Prime Minister Najib Razak has made improving the effectiveness of government operations and ending corruption key policy goals. He has done so by establishing a special court to hear corruption cases, and launched a public database in 2012, that lists the details and photographs of convicted graft offenders.

Mr. Satar commended those initiatives but said the government still “has to work harder.”
One of the main concerns for Malaysia, he said, was the awarding of major infrastructure and public works contracts without competitive bidding or open tenders.

At the very bottom of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index were North Korea, Afghanistan and Somalia. Denmark ranked first followed by New Zealand and a string of other Scandinavian countries – Finland, Sweden and Norway. ‘The Wall Street Journal’