Malaysia Drops 7 Places In Latest Global Corruption Perception Ranking
Despite all the efforts to be a more transparent and less corrupt nation, Malaysia seems to be moving backwards.
By Justin Tan — 22 Feb 2018, 01:05 PM
Malaysia scored and ranked lower in the 2017 report of the Transparency Intentional's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which was released on Wednesday, 21 February
Malaysia scored 47 out of 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2017, placing 62nd among 180 countries surveyed.
In 2016, Malaysia placed 55th out of 176 nations, and 54th of 168 in 2015.
Out of 10 Asean countries, Malaysia emerges third behind Singapore and Brunei but left far behind in terms of scores. Singapore ranked sixth globally, scored 84 while Brunei placed 32nd with a score of 62.
The CPI ranks countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people.
For the third year in a row, New Zealand tops Transparency International's corruption index with a score of 89
The global average score is 43. The Asia Pacific region has an average score of 44, tying with the Americas in 2nd place among the regions.
The European Union & Western Europe got the highest regional average score with 66, while countries in Sub-Saharan Africa performed the worst, with an average score of 32.
Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of countries surveyed scored below 50.
You can check out the full report here.
TI Malaysia president Dato’ Akhbar Haji Satar said that Malaysia's ranking should serve as a wake-up call to the government
Akhbar said today, “Malaysia is on par with Cuba, Romania and just behind Saudi Arabia in terms of our ranking. The main driving issues behind the poor showing are perceived impunity by those believed to be engaged in large-scale graft.
"It is very sad that a whistleblower always gets arrested and punished here when most of the other countries have tried to enact whistle-blowing laws to protect the country.
"This is a crucial area that should be relooked if we are serious in fighting corruption," Akhbar added.
Besides that, Transparency International Malaysia also highlighted other issues such as thefts of public funds are left unpunished, unresolved cases of 1MDB, FGV scandal, the absence of political financing law and corporate liability provisions in the anti-graft laws.
What do you think about corruption in Malaysia? Has it gotten better or worse? Share with us your thoughts!