Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Paul Low has lamented that his efforts to combat corruption have gone unnoticed by the public.

He said this during his keynote speech at the annual National Procurement and Integrity Forum for Public and Private Sectors in Kuala Lumpur today, where he listed his efforts and achievements since he was appointed to his post in 2013.

“That is my report of my progress and my job. Whether you consider it as adequate or not adequate, definitely I am not sleeping.

“Our problem is, how do I communicate what I am doing to the public? To you professionals, it is okay,” he said at the forum organised by the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance.

Nevertheless, the minister in charge of promoting integrity and transparency in the government, expressed confidence that the people would eventually find themselves feeling that things have indeed changed for the better.

In his speech, Low described himself as being akin to an 'independent director' for all ministries in the government.

Previously, he said, internal audits were submitted to a ministry's secretary-general and minister.

However, this has been changed such that internal audit reports are now submitted directly to the auditor-general or himself.

This gives the internal audits a greater degree of independence.

As for the auditor-general's report, a townhall meeting is being held following each release of the report where the secretaries-general of various ministries are put under the spotlight and field questions about their ministry's performance.

Integrity units

In addition, Low said, integrity units have been set up in many parts of the government.

Among others, its officers oversee the procurement process and ensure that corrective actions highlighted in the auditor-general's reports are implemented.

The integrity officers are also empowered to approch the ministers directly, without the presence of a secretary-general, he said.

Mega-projects such as the MRT are deemed to be of high risk to graft, and gets their own integrity unit as well.

This is comprised of three members – one each from the Integrity and Governance Division, the Auditor-General's Office, and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

In another step away from the previous norm, Low said these units are to monitor the projects constantly, instead of conducting the audit only after the project is completed.

When asked by reporters after his speech, Low said Malaysia's drop in the 2015 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was merely 'a blip' because it was a 'special year'.

He expressed hope Malaysia's scores on the index will improve from next year onwards.

“ Wars are not won by a single battle. Some battles we win; some battles we lose, but generally the trend is that we move towards better governance.

“ Some of the things I mentioned in my speech... These are some of the changes and I'm sure perception will change when some of the effects are felt by the citizens and felt by the businesses,” he said.