Over 700 Malaysians participated in Transparency International-Malaysia’s (TI-M) Walk Against Corruption on Saturday 13th December 2014 at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, organised in collaboration with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), NKRA Against Corruption, Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The large turnout supported the Walk’s theme “A Nation Free of Corruption Starts with You”, as families and individuals participated in the 1.4km Walk, symbolising their commitment to end corruption. Organised for the third year running, the Walk’s aim was to demonstrate public support in fighting corruption across all strata of society as well as to raise awareness, particularly to the youth, on the issue.
Another key theme of the day was “collaboration”, particularly between civil society and government bodies, coming together for the same objective – to show solidarity against corruption. Speakers at the event included:
• leading social activists: Y.Bhg Dato’ Akhbar Satar (President of TI-Malaysia), Y.Bhg Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan (Patron of Negara-Ku), Maria Chin Abdullah (Chairman of Bersih 2.0) and Cynthia Gabriel (Director of C4);
• key youth representatives: Akmal Saufi Mohamed Khaled (member of the Malaysian Youth Parliament) and Jufitri bin Joha (Vice President of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia);
• as well as the Deputy Chief Commissioner of Prevention from the MACC, Y.Bhg Datuk Haji Mustafar bin Ali.
The Coalition for Governance, Integrity, Accountability and Transparency (GIAT) was officially launched at the Walk by TI-M President, Dato’ Akhbar, with a mission to “promote and advocate for governance, integrity, accountability in Malaysia” by upholding five core principles: impartiality, justice, openness, solidarity, honesty. Dato Akhbar stated “”We are going to work together and form a stronger voice so that it will be heard, and all of us understand that it is important to come up with ways to curb corruption in our country.” The Coalition includes the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Sinar Project, Citizens Network for a Better Malaysia (CNBM), the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) and Friends of Kota Damansara.
The number of youth at this year’s Walk was inspiring. Around 140 university students from the Corruption Prevention Secretariats participated from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), International Islamic University Malaysia (UIAM) and International Languages Teacher Training Institute (IPBA). UIAM students also performed a dance sequence and a sketch highlighting the destructive effects of corruption on people’s lives. Around 50 enthusiastic representatives from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy (MACA) also attended the Walk, contributing to the numbers of youth participants.
The Walk also received great support from the following sponsors: Nestlé, Celebrity Fitness, Perskindol and Saucony, who contributed free product samples and lucky draw gifts.
This year’s Walk Against Corruption represents a significant milestone in the solidarity shown between people of all backgrounds, ages, ideals and beliefs from different sectors coming together for the same cause. TI-M is extremely thankful to everyone who participated in strengthening this common platform, by helping to emphasize that this is the only way to move forward in the fight against corruption
