KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's top anti-corruption body has said that the country's image in battling corruption has improved after it set up a special court tasked with handling corruption cases. The Institute of Integrity Malaysia (IIM) said in a statement that their efforts have been shown to be successful and are being praised across the globe for their crackdown on anti-graft. “It is a good idea (to set up the special court) because one of the biggest complaints we hear is that corruption cases can take a few years before being brought to court,” said IIM President Mohd Tap Salleh at a press conference after the institute opened the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute on Monday. “At the moment, it is very fast and cases are disposed of within six months. I think it has helped our image in terms of fighting corruption,” he added. Their comments come after last month, a Malaysia court sentenced a former assistant superintendent of police to five-years in jail and a RM20,000 fine for accepting a bribe while in his position. Judge Mat Ghani Abdullah handed out the sentence and fine on Azmi Abdullah, 54, after finding him “guilty of corruptly receiving the money from one Ng Zho Wei as an inducement to reduce the severity of the charge," on a woman in a drug case two years ago. Abdullah, who was suspended as the Serdang narcotics criminal investigation division chief, reportedly committed the crime at his office in Seri Kembangan in November 2010. Government officials have told Bikyamasr.com repeatedly that they believe ending corruption will be a key component of boosting development and entering the top economies globally. Malaysia was number 60 in the Global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) last year, dropping four spots from 2010. Salleh also noted that there was still a lot of work that needed to be done to reduce the number of corruption cases and to improve the country's position in CPI. “I think studies have shown that the initiative introduced by the Government and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has reaped a lot of benefits. “However, even if there is still one corruption case in our country, that is still considered one too many,” he added.
