DAP has blasted the BN government for hypocrisy and “double standards” in writing off the dismal Transparency International (TI) corruption index rating while earlier this year lauding the favourable Global Competitiveness Index.

lim guan eng press conference on bicycle lane 251111 1 “The BN federal government is clearly practising double-standards by dismissing the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as subjective because it is unfavourable but the favourable Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) by the World Economic Forum is objective,” said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He took issue with Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah’s statement yesterday that the CPI slide was “ subjective ” and “questionable”, and that it was based on “perception”.

“Why is the GCI not a subjective evaluation that is also questionable? Is the GCI neither subjective nor questionable just because it is favourable to the federal government?

Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister, noted how the BN had “praised itself for Malaysia’s improvement” in ranking from 26 to 21 when the CGI was announced in September.

He said the government was in a state of “denial” in the face of mounting scandals such as the National Feedlot Centre issue and the disgraceful revelations of the recent Auditor-General’s Report 2011.

“This is a classic case of denial by the BN federal government that corruption has worsened in Malaysia despite the Economic Transformation Program and Government Transformation Programme by the prime minister.”

“The BN should not take an ostrich in the sand approach but admit that Malaysia faces serious corruption levels,” he said in a statement today.

Lim, who earlier this week slammed Umno for diverting attention away from the CPI slide during its general assembly by indulging in endless DAP and Pakatan bashing, said the denials of TI’s findings shows BN has “little hope” of actually addressing corruption in the country.

“The refusal of even a learned economist like Husni to face hard truths and reality shows that there is no hope of successfully combatting corruption under a BN and Umno that is willing to sacrifice principles for political expediency,” said Lim.