KUALA LUMPUR: Despite a positive boost in the latest global corruption rankings and efforts by the Malaysia government to reduce and end corruption at top levels in the country, a new report published this week has revealed that high-level corruption remains a major problem. According to Transparency International, Malaysia scored the worst globally in terms of bribes paid, and half of the corporate executives surveyed by the corruption watchdog believe competitors obtain business in the country through giving of bribes. It asked nearly 3,000 executives from 30 countries whether they had lost a contract in the past year because competitors paid a bribe, and in Malaysia, 50 percent of them said “yes.” “It shows the attitude of private companies in Malaysia, indicating that bribery in the public sector could be systemic and in a sense institutionalized,” said Paul Low, president of the Malaysian chapter of Transparency International. Malaysia moved to the number 54 spot in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) this year, up 6 positions from last year, Low said last Thursday. He said Malaysia scored 49 out of 100 on the CPI's survey which gauges the perceived level of public sector corruption among 176 countries. “The improvement is expected ... all the efforts and steps taken by the government, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Pemandu (Performance Management & Delivery Unit) have borne fruit and we hope that Malaysia will manage to break records," he told a press conference in announcing Malaysia's CPI result for 2012, which was released by Transparency International (TI) worldwide. “There is improvement in the ranking but Malaysia's position continues to be in mid-range average and we hope to see Malaysia in two or three years to perform a remarkable jump to 60 points," he said. He also commended the government in its commitment for fighting corruption saying Malaysia was the only country in the world that was brave enough to include the CPI as part of its Key Performance Index (KPI) in fighting corruption. Low said Malaysia was ranked third among Asian nations behind Singapore which scored 87 points, followed by Brunei in second place with 55 points. Thailand scored 37, Philippines (34), Indonesia (32), Vietnam (31), Cambodia (22), Laos (21) and Myanmar (15). The top three were Denmark, Finland and New Zealand with each of them scoring 90 points followed by Sweden (88 points), Singapore (87), Switzerland (86); Australia and Norway each scored 85 points while Canada and the Netherlands scored 84 points each. Activists and government officials told Bikyamasr.com on Thursday that the jump in the rankings shows the country is on the right path. “I think this is a testament to the positive moves the government has made and we hope to continue to cut out corruption wherever we can," said an official in the Prime Minister's office. “This is a sign that people are not allowing officials to maintain corrupt practices," he added.
