Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) calls on Government to step up fight against corruption and accelerate reforms to promote transparency and accountability in all sectors of Malaysian society
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) welcomes the discussion of TI’s Corruption Perception Index (“CPI”) in Parliament and welcomes the importance that Government and parliamentarians place on Malaysia’s ranking in the CPI.
While it is true that the CPI measures perception, the perception does to a large extent reflect reality on the ground as the report is subjected to rigorous cross-checks and many international reports and surveys are consulted before the final scoring and ranking is done.
Hence, Transparency International Malaysia urges the Government of Malaysia to step up the fight against corruption which is of very serious concern to all Malaysians, especially among the public officials and politicians and the business and investment community. Malaysia needs to achieve a much higher level of transparency, integrity, and accountability which are the hallmarks of good governance, national unity and progress.
Corruption is a key threat to the rule of law and the long-term sustainability of Malaysia’s political, economic and social progress.
Corruption is currently undermining income growth and distribution and income equity. It is aggravating poverty as the target groups in the low income groups are being denied the full value of the large development expenditures provided in the national budgets and this can also worsen in the future if corruption deepens.
Corruption is also causing cost push inflation and much of the rising prices can be attributed to corrupt practices and the need to further improve the delivery systems.
The perception that corruption is prevalent among the nation’s political and business elite is widespread. The following key points should be given due attention to improve Malaysia’s ranking so that we are on par with the best in the world in these criteria.
It is not helpful nor useful to compare Malaysia’s CPI score with the poor performers. We should compare ourselves to the countries that have performed much better and even the best in the world, if we are to become more competitive and to further improve the welfare of all Malaysians and especially the poor and low income Rakyat.
TI-M believes that Malaysia should pay particular attention to improving the Government’s procurement procedures especially for large projects , as the poor perception on the integrity in the execution of these projects can impact adversely on public perception of corruption.
The awarding of huge infrastructure development projects to selected business entities on the basis of negotiated contracts, without open and competitive tendering and the giving of special licenses to certain privileged groups does not help to improve the international and domestic of government’s perception of government’s efforts towards greater transparency and the degree of its will to combat corruption.
The numerous incidents of corruption, malpractices and mismanagement of public funds are also routinely highlighted in the Auditor General’s yearly reports. Many mega projects are mismanaged and are ultimately bailed out by government using public funds and taxpayers’ hard-earned income which could be channeled beneficially to fight poverty.
TI-M agrees with the Prime Minister that his government has undertaken several sound initiatives recently to strengthen the institutions to fight corruption but the Malaysian public, the international community and TI Headquarters in Berlin, will want to see more evidence of actual prosecutions against the corrupt “Big Fish”, before the present poor perceptions of corruption in Malaysia can change for the better.
The present score that averages at 5 out of 10 points in the CPI is definitely not acceptable nor acceptable, nor conducive for advancement and progress.
TI-M therefore looks forward to the establishment of the Independent Anti-corruption Commission and Advisory Board as soon as possible as this will contribute greatly to the improvement of Malaysia’s CPI scores if the proposed new Anti-corruption Commission and Advisory prove to be truly independent and really effective in combating the scourge of corruption in Malaysia.
As a responsible movement that is affiliated to a reputable international non-government organization, TI-Malaysia strongly supports the Prime Minister’s stated objective of bringing about higher standards of transparency , integrity and accountability in Malaysia, with a greater sense of priority and urgency, please.
Issued by
Tan Sri (Dr) Ramon V. Navaratnam
President
Transparency International Malaysia
