An anti-corruption watchdog said that it was not surprised that Malaysia has taken another tumble in its ranking on the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.

The country's ranking fell five notches to 44 out of the 163 countries surveyed in the world corruption index released this week.

The country's position last year was 39 out of 158 countries. The nation's position in 2004 was also 39, a drop of two places from 37 in 2003.

"While Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has an image of an anti-corruption fighter, graft during the three years of his administration has worsen," lamented the head of the Movement for Democracy and Anti-Corruption (Gerak), Ezam Mohd Noor.

"We are disappointed that Abdullah has failed to bolster the powers of enforcement institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Agency."

Ezam added that not a single law relating to corruption had been amended since Abdullah took power.

This suggests that his war against corruption was nothing more than rhetoric, said Ezam.

According to Ezam, among the necessary changes in the laws are:

  • Repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act so that the media is free to report corruption cases.

  • Repeal of the Official Secrets Act, which will enhance transparency in governance.

  • Enact a Freedom of Information Act so that citizens will have the right to information.

    • Can't blame Dr M

    Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that Abdullah cannot blame his predecessor, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for the country's dismal showing in the Corruption Perception Index.

    "Many Malaysians wanted a fresh start after the financial excesses and abuse of power of the Mahathir regime and were tired of the widespread corruption that caused Malaysia to drop from No 23 when the rankings were first published in 1995 to No 37 when he left office," said Lim.

    "For that reason, Malaysians responded strongly to Abdullah by giving BN the largest mandate in electoral history with 91 percent of the parliamentary seats."

    Lim said that Abdullah must analyse why he was performing worse than Mahathir was in power when he has a better image of being a clean leader.

    He said among the actions Abdullah must take include:

    • Show leadership by example by publicly declaring assets.

  • Ensure that ACA is independent and has prosecution powers, and make it accountable only to Parliament.

  • Enact a Whistleblower Act to protect the safety of information providers and give adequate rewards where necessary.