Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pledged today there would be "no let up" in his anti-corruption drive, which was a major plank in his landslide election victory in March.

"The work on rooting out corruption continues to be challenging, but let me assure you that there is no let up in my government's determination to tackle this scourge," Abdullah, who is also finance minister, said when opening an economic conference here.

"There is a popular belief that corruption is only being fought if many more people are charged in court. I believe the punitive aspect is important but before punitive action can be taken, wrong-doing must be reported and properly investigated."

The anti-corruption agency had made 445 arrests in the first 10 months this year, compared with 339 last year, he said.

Abdullah, who took over from veteran leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Oct 31 last year when he retired after 22 years in power, has declared the fight against corruption to be a priority for his administration.

Among high-profile cases this year was the arrest in February of lands and cooperative development minister Kasitah Gaddam, who later resigned. He is facing trial.

The former head of troubled steel giant Perwaja, Eric Chia, was charged with embezzling RM76.4 million, eight years after an investigation was launched into Malaysia's biggest financial scandal. The trial is ongoing.

Where's the big fish

While the arrests were widely welcomed by opposition parties, economists and Western diplomats, some critics expressed doubts over how far the crackdown would go, suggesting that the "big fish" would be untouched.

Abdullah said more important than punitive action was the preventive aspect of his campaign. The government had formulated a " national integrity plan " to get more people involved in the fight against corruption, he said.

"We have set up the Integrity Institute of Malaysia to better coordinate and take effective action to enhance integrity and weed out corruption in the country," he added, without elaborating.

Abdullah also pledged to tackle the " many inadequacies and imperfections " in the public service delivery system, reduce indirect costs for businesses and improve corporate governance.

"There is clearly much more to do. My aim going forward is to focus on the implementation of the initiatives that I have outlined with the aim of building greater momentum and ensuring sustainability of the steps taken," he said.

Critics, however, have expressed doubt over Abdullah's ability or willingness to take on powerful forces within the government and the faction-ridden ruling Umno, which had been accused of graft for years.