The staggering outflow of illicit capital has made Malaysia the “king of black money”, charged DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in calling on the people to rescue the country from the clutches of the Barisan Nasional.

Commenting on the Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report exposé yesterday that ranked Malaysia among the top four countries with highest illicit outflow of RM150 billion in 2009.

An earlier study by GFI showed that RM927 billion (US$47 billion) had been siphoned out of the country over a span of nine years - between 2000 and 2008.

Lim said: “This whopping and unaccountable loss of more than RM1 trillion as a result of corruption or black money and will never be recovered.

“The fact that RM1 trillion worth of corruption was generated and subsequently siphoned out of our country makes the last 10 years the lost decade of corruption for Malaysia”.

Calling on the people to “rid the country of its robber barons”, Lim held the government responsible for this situation.

The cost overruns in government-funded projects such as the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), National Feedlot Centre (NFC) and purchase of Scorpene submarines, which resulted in multi-million ringgit losses and lack of accountability, he said, also contributed to Malaysia  becoming “the king of black money”.

NONE Lim ( left ) also attributed the dip in the country’s Corruption Perception Index(CPI), which fell four places to 60 out of 178 countries, making its worst ranking in a decade.

Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) which conducts the survey annually, said the decline was the result of the government’s failure to tackle “grand corruption”.

“The latest exposé by GFI of RM1,077 billion in black corruption money illegally taken out of the country explains the extent of the losses suffered by Malaysians.

“DAP regrets that the BN government has dismissed this reputable study carried out by an independent and prestigious body,” he said.

Lim was referring to comments by made by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and other relevant ministers when GFI first reported massive capital flight in January.

Najib had said that Bank Negara would respond accordingly, and it was later announced that the central bank had launched a probe .

But to date, Bank Negara has yet to announce the result of its investigations nor explain the massive illicit capital flight, despite offers of help from top GFI economists.

“Malaysians must unite to save this country from the BN, clean up corruption and try to get back this RM1,077 billion in illicit money,” appealed Lim.

'Just another window dressing tool'

On the other hand, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar sees the government’s transformation measures as nothing more than a “public relations campaign” to boost the country’s image, rather than to tackle unbridled graft.

NONE Nurul Izzah ( left ) said this marked the failure of establishments such as the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).

Pemandu, which was mooted to formulate policies to improve governance, among others, has not been effective, she said, in stopping the illicit capital flight, which as of 2009 increased to a whopping RM150 billion.

“The report showcases and validates our assertion that nothing has changed fundamentally and everything remains the same,” the Lembah Pantai MP said.

“Pemandu remains as a mere tool to prop up the government’s image that it has fully transformed, which in reality is nothing less than a public relations campaign,” Nurul Izzah said.

The GFI report attributed the leakages to bribery, theft, kickbacks and tax evasion, adding that 45 percent of the illicit outflow in Asia were largely driven by China and Malaysia.

“I’m deeply disappointed and fearful for the future of Malaysia, especially considering that in Southeast Asia, we are one of the countries most exposed to borrowing from Europe,” said Nurul Izzah.

“Unless the issues of governance are addressed, we will be looking at a future filled with illegal outflows of money,” she added.

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