Malaysia falls a rank in Rule of Law Index, places 55 of 140

Malaysia has fallen one position since last year in World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2022, ranking 55th out of 140 countries, amid a global trend of weakening rule of law.

WJP’s analysis of the data shows that adherence to the rule of law fell in 61 percent of countries surveyed this year.

“Authoritarian trends that predate the pandemic continue to erode the rule of law.

“Checks on executive power are weakening and respect for human rights is falling,” said WJP executive director Elizabeth Andersen in a statement on the report’s launch yesterday.

Malaysia’s overall rule of law score decreased 1.7 percent in this year’s index, based on scores in these eight areas:

1. Constraints on government powers

2. Absence of corruption

3. Open government

4. Fundamental rights

5. Order and security

6. Regulatory enforcement

7. Civil justice

8. Criminal justice

Among the eight factors scored by WJP, Malaysia this year performed the worst in terms of an open government, ranking 101 out of 140 countries for this factor.

The openness of government is defined by the extent to which a government shares information, empowers people with tools to hold the government accountable and fosters citizen participation in public policy deliberations.

Fundamental rights, order and security

Malaysia also ranked low globally for the fundamental rights factor, standing at 90th out of 140 countries.

WJP noted that for the fundamental rights factor, they focused on a relatively modest menu of rights established under the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

On the contrary, Malaysia performed well in order and security, ranking 47th globally for this factor which measures how well a society ensures the security of persons and property.

Meanwhile, Malaysia this year managed to maintain its rank of seven out of 15 countries within the East Asia and Pacific region.

WJP chief engagement officer Ted Piccone noted that 10 countries in the region had declined in their rule of law scores this year while only five improved.

He said East Asia and Pacific countries have wildly varying performances in the index.

Five countries from this region ranked in the top 20 globally: New Zealand (7), Australia (13), Japan (16), Singapore (17), and South Korea (19).

Then there were a few sitting in the middle of the global rankings such as Malaysia (55), Indonesia (64), Thailand (80) and Vietnam (84), while two countries in Asean ranked at the bottom of the index: Myanmar (132) and Cambodia (139).

“It underscores the big gap (in the region) between that small group at the top, several in the middle and then another core group at the bottom, including two from Asean,” Piccone said at a virtual media briefing of the index report’s launch yesterday.

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