PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli applauds Malaysia's better ranking in the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) but questions whether it is all a public relations exercise.

"The better position of Malaysia, up three ranks at 50 from the 175 countries, is a good development.

"Nevertheless, I find it funny to see how Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak beats his chest claiming that the alleged better ranking means that Putrajaya’s curbing steps (against corruption) have been effective," said Rafizi, who is also the secretary general of PKR.

Rafizi ( left ) pointed out that the better ranking does not necessarily mean that Putrajaya had made much-needed reform in fighting corruption. 

The Pandan MP said it does not necessarily mean that corruption in the country had decreased.

"It simply means that society is more informed about corruption and displays a higher level of awareness on efforts to fight corruption," he said.

Rafizi, however, praised the leadership of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) under Abu Kassim Mohamed. 

MACC, he said, has been more open and spends more time listening to the public to improve their performance.

'Follow up on scandals'

He said that it was also under Abu Kassim that MACC organised many programmes to reach out to and educate the people on corruption.

He also praised the media, as well as activists, who continuously support efforts to fight corruption.

This is based on the published stories on news portals and social media which expose corruption scandals, he said.

Despite his praise for the MACC chief ( left ), Rafizi questions whether the public campaigns will all be a mere PR exercise. 

He asked about follow-up actions on the arrest and prosecution of big national scandals.

“There is a major difference between official statistics issued by the government and the raykat’s economic reality.

"That is why economic figures don’t mean much to the rakyat," he added.

Rafizi said that efforts to reach out to the people has its limits and Malaysia’s CPI ranking will not improve without arrests and prosecution in the country’s biggest scandals.

“In fact, if there are no arrests and prosecutions made involving those in high profile cases, I believe that the CPI will lose its credibility in the eyes of the rakyat.”