Malaysia has retained its 39th spot in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index or CPI. The index, released worldwide today, rated 158 countries.

This time around, Malaysia's score was at 5.1 out of 10. This is a slight improvement from last year's 5.0. Last year's index only rated 133 countries.

In 2003, Malaysia was ranked at 37 with a score of 5.2.

Transparency International (TI) Malaysia president Param Cumaraswamy said this was a small step and the country has a 'long way to go' in stamping out corruption.

"The slight improvement does not mean that the level of corruption has drastically reduced. We have not really gone very far in the reduction of corruption," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur after announcing the latest index.

He said the government must strive for comparable standards with developed countries in Scandinavia, Europe, North America and Australasia.

"The government's commitment must be translated and seen to be translated into real action- oriented reforms to realise the targetted score of 6.5 within the next five years," he added

Noting the current measures in fighting corruption, he said the government's 'really got to work' to achieve a 6.5 target.

Political will

Param also cited the recent statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz that the government had no intention to enact a freedom of information legislation.

This, he said, cast a negative light on the government's will to fight corruption."Without political will from the political masters, we can never go far," he added.

He said other issues contradictory to the government's commitment in fighting corruption were how the public funds are handled in the latest Auditor General's Report.

"Public procurement procedures are still not seen as transparent and fair," he added.

Param said the failure to make the Anti-Corruption Agency an independent institution and the delay in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Royal Commission on the Police have also given a negative perception to the public.

He suggested the government set up an office of an independent ombudsman under the Constitution.

"This office should have oversight over all public servants and to which all senior public servants including ministers and members of parliament are made to declare their assets including those of their immediate families periodically," he said.

Stern measures

Param urged Prime Minister Abdullah Ahamd Badawi to employ stern measures in fighting corruption even if 'some people get hurt'.

"We need to have real pressure from the top to clean every sector. Prosecution and enforcement are very important," he said.

As for the index, the TI report stated that more than two-thirds of the countries surveyed scored less than five points.

"This indicates serious levels of corruption in a majority of the countries surveyed," it read.

Topping the list was Iceland (9.7), followed by Finland (9.6), New Zealand (9.6), Denmark (9.5) and Singapore (9.4).

Whereas at the bottom were Chad (1.7), Bangladesh (1.7), Turkmenistan (1.8), Burma (1.8) and Haiti (1.8).

The report also noted the double burden of poverty and corruption borne by the world's least developed countries.