The level of corruption in the country is not as rampant as perceived by members of the public, says the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), basing this on research it carried out on anti-corruption initiatives in Malaysia.

“When it comes to the level of corruption in Malaysia, we found that there is a disconnect between public perception and what the data says.

“Public perception as measured by the CPI (Corruption Perception Index) implies that corruption is rampant and the situation is very bad," Ideas said in a statement today, using data from an interim report on its research.

“But data suggests that the problem of corruption in Malaysia is not as bleak as the CPI score has painted. Thus, when discussing corruption in Malaysia, it is necessary to do so with a pinch of salt and not be completely influenced by perception alone."

anti corruption day 091205 simple message Nevertheless, Ideas said, the "perception does not arise out of thin air" and the institute stressed that it was not arguing that there was no corruption in Malaysia.

Rather, it felt there was a need to be cautious and not to throw "blanket accusations" denying the good efforts initiated by the government on how to tackle corruption in the country, of which the report said there have been many.

Ideas said its interim report, which was released today, was an attempt to compile the first “history” of the fight against corruption in Malaysia by providing an overview of initiatives taken by various agencies, groups and organisations over the last few decades.

Biggest obstacle: Convincing business and public

The report states that the biggest challenge faced by the Malaysian government was in convincing businesses and members of the public that it was addressing the problem of corruption in a serious manner.

“The current initiatives are not adequate as they have not effectively addressed the root causes of corruption, and the public does not believe the government is serious in tackling it,” the report says.

While serious initiatives have been taken, the government was faced with the same problem of curbing corruption. The government should take stock of all the initiatives and “conduct a comprehensive evaluation,” before it moves ahead, the report says.

“Perhaps the country has been so engrossed with the problems at hand, to the extent that we forgot to look at simple solutions.

“We are always in a hurry to start new initiatives when the ones we have crafted earlier have not yet been executed to satisfaction, and some recommendations have not been given due considerations.”

At present, the statement says, Ideas does not see a cohesive approach among the public and private sectors and civil society sitting together with a clear objective of eradicating corruption and strategising initiatives to magnify the impact.

Recommendations by Ideas

The research notes that an inter-agency working committee was missing at the federal level, where all agencies responsible in fighting corruption and promoting integrity should be coordinated in terms of their strategies and initiatives.

bribe and corruption malaysia If this is done, the interim report states, it will prevent duplication and wasting of resources and can ensure impact and clear outcomes.

“Any agency in charge of monitoring and coordination, like the National Key Results Area, should improve its coordination capacity, where it should not confine itself to coordinating programmes under the Government Transformation Programme, but it should also monitor and coordinate the programme.”

Furthermore, Ideas said, the MACC should optimise its resources to improve its detection, inspection, and investigation capacity and performance.

It added that the previous administration's anti-corruption policy should not be ignored, such as the National Integrity Plan, as it should be re-examined, like the recommendations made by Shah Nazir Alam in his 1958 report.

Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who officiated at the launch of the interim report, congratulated Ideas, saying the study would provide the government with a very comprehensive foundation to build further on the culture of integrity. 

“Hopefully, it can lead to a surge in real actions that will make real and fundamental changes,” Abdullah said.

Ideas began the research in March and it was funded by MACC's NKRA and other local and foreign funders.