Malaysia lost RM47b in GDP value to corruption last year - DPM

Malaysia lost RM47 billion in GDP value to corruption last year alone, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said today.

She said a similar amount, of about four percent of GDP, was lost to corruption annually since 2013, according to Transparency International Malaysia.

"What can we do with RM47 billion? It is more than we spend on education and is almost double the amount spent on healthcare in 2017. 

"Imagine what we could do if we had access to these funds; if they were spent on improving our potholed roads, easing congestion in our public hospitals or providing scholarships for the deserving to advance their education?

"Imagine if the most vulnerable of our society – our women, children, the poor – did not have to rely on bribes and ‘knowing the right people’ to get services they need," she said in her keynote address at an anti-corruption forum in Kuala Lumpur today.

Wan Azizah said that contrary to popular belief, corruption does not only occur at the highest levels of government.

[More to follow]

- Bernama