Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) wish to set the record straight arising from the various comments on the press from certain quarters relating to the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) and CPI (Corruption Perceptions Index) issue as mentioned in the recently released of Transparency International’s Global Corruption Report (GCR) 2009.
The annual Global Corruption Report (GCR) is prepared and published by Berlin-based Transparency International (TI-Berlin) with a different theme every year. The theme for 2009 is Corruption and the Private Sector and the global research was done on 46 countries by 75 international anti-corruption experts examining the scale, scope and devastating consequences of corporate corruption and complemented with best practices and practical recommendations.
The GCR should be distinguished from TI-Berlin’s Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) and Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The GCB, first released in 2003, is a survey that assesses general attitudes towards and experience of corruption in countries around the world. The GCB 2009 was conducted on 73,132 respondents from 69 countries out of which there were 1,236 respondents from Malaysia. This GCB 2009 was released on 3 June 2009. The CPI, first released in 1995, ranks some
180 countries by their perceived levels of corruptions as determined by experts’ assessments and opinion surveys such as the Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank and Bertelsmann Foundation, World Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit, Global Insight and World Economic Forum. Data from these sources spans over two years period, the year of publication and the preceding year and the same methodology applies every year for comparability. The next CPI 2009 will be released in November 2009.
The Executive Committee (Exco) of TI-M supports and endorses the GCR 2009, and disagrees that there is any conflict of interest of the President of TI-M in chairing the Ad-Hoc Committee on Governance of PKA. His chairing of the Ad-Hoc Committee was deliberated and endorsed by the Exco with the objective to engage and help the government of the day in promoting governance and integrity. His terms of reference are that he will stand firm on all recommendations made by the Ad- Hoc Committee and there should be public disclosure of all the recommendations in order to maintain its independence and accountability.
Issued by:
Dr Loi Kheng Min
Secretary General
Transparency International Malaysia
