MalayMail-Jan 30
Malaysia reversed its three-year slide to place 57th out of 108 nations in this year’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as measured by Transparency International. Malaysia rose four rungs and scored 50 out of 100 points in 2023, up from 47 the previous year, ending its decline since 2019 when it scored 53 points. Globally, Denmark placed top again with 90 points followed by Finland (87), New Zealand (85), Norway (84) and Singapore at 83. Singapore is also the top ranked nation in ASEAN with Malaysia in second place, followed by Vietnam (41), Thailand (35), Indonesia and the Philippines (tied at 34), Laos (28), Cambodia (22) and Myanmar at 20th place.
Every single ASEAN member, except for Malaysia and Singapore, fell in the 2024 CPI. Muhammad Mohan, the chairman of Transparency International Malaysia, attributed Malaysia’s improvement this year to the federal government demonstrating its willingness to take court action against high-profile individuals and its efforts to ensure more transparency and accountability in the public sector. “The government’s show of willingness to charge high profile individuals with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Attorney General’s Chambers plays a part in this rise. “The charging of two former prime ministers for corruption has given a positive public perception. Add to that the independence of the judiciary in charging individuals like those involved in the SRC International trial and the conviction of a former prime minister in this case were possible reasons for Malaysia’s rebound,” he said during the launch of the report here today. Muhammad said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s dream of seeing Malaysia in the top 25 by 2033 can be achieved but it needs more political will to implement the changes they wanted to implement when they were the Opposition. Read more at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/01/30/malaysia-ranks-57th-in-global-corruption-perception-index-trails-singapore-in-asean/115356
