Malaysia’s score in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2023 has rebounded for the first time in three years, scoring 50 out of 100 points.
This improves the country’s ranking to the 57th spot for 2023 out of 180 nations, an improvement from the 61st position it held in 2022.
In a briefing today, TI Malaysia president Muhammad Mohan said this is compared to its score of 47 points in 2022, 48 points in 2021 and 51 points in 2020.
The CPI uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is perceived to be highly corrupted and 100 is perceived to be very clean.
“Although there is a rebound, there is much more that can be done (to improve the country’s score).
“What this means is don’t be too happy, (an increase of) three points (compared to the previous year’s score) is okay,” Muhammad said at the briefing held at Tropicana Golf and Country Resort in Petaling Jaya today.
Among the Asean countries that were scored, Malaysia ranked second after Singapore, which scored 83 points.
Singapore is the only Asian country to make it to the top 10 global ranking, securing fifth place after Denmark (90 points), Finland (87), New Zealand (85) and Norway (84).
Factors behind improved score
Several possible reasons behind Malaysia’s improved score include the MACC and Attorney-General’s Chambers' role in charging two former prime ministers - Najib Abdul Razak and Muhyiddin Yassin - as well as Najib’s conviction in the SRC International corruption case that demonstrated judicial independence.
It could also be due to the smooth transition of power after the 14th and 15th general elections, which indicate the existence and respect for democratic principles, Muhammad said.
“Among the positive developments which happened after the coalition government came to power also include Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's directive for enhancing the code of national governance, current investigations on the undisclosed wealth of politicians and former politicians as well as setting a national CPI target - to achieve top 25 in global ranking,” he added.
However, he said the nation should not be too quick to celebrate the CPI improvement as the survey did not take into consideration the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The anti-graft group’s chief said the CPI 2023 survey themed “Corruption and Justice” was completed in August last year.
"The DNAA was granted on Sept 4 last year. Most probably such a development was not captured in the survey for the CPI 2023 since it only reflected (perception on corruption) incidents until August last year.
He also expressed concern that the DNAA granted to Zahid will adversely affect Malaysia’s CPI score this year.
Last September, the prosecution withdrew 47 corruption charges against Zahid related to Yayasan Akalbudi.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court then allowed the prosecution’s application for DNAA.
The decision is being challenged in court.
‘Worrying trends’
Muhammad also highlighted several shortcomings, particularly the continued lack of good governance and slow progress on legislative reforms promised in Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto.
“The political financing bill has yet to be tabled. We are also seeing extremely slow progress on MACC’s reform to create a fully independent anti-corruption agency as well as the separation of powers, roles and appointments between the attorney-general and the public prosecutor.
“To reiterate, there are many initiatives in the election manifesto, which have not been given priority.
“Granted that the government’s resources are limited, still the people’s expectations are high and so far, it has not been met in terms of the government’s declared actions.”
Further, he also pointed out several “worrying trends” which if not addressed properly will impact Malaysia’s future CPI scores.
While commending the investigations on the undisclosed wealth of former politicians as a positive step, he said it should also include current politicians and anyone associated or aligned with the government.
“Any such persons found to have unexplained or potentially illegally acquired wealth during the process of a MACC investigation should arouse suspicion and be asked to declare assets to facilitate such investigations.
“The nexus between politics, business and patronage continues to be a grey and nebulous zone, which plagues the nation, especially in the area of transparency and integrity. This is sometimes perceived to be the reason why the political financing bill has not seen the light of the day.”
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