MACC chief: Corruption in Malaysia at worrying level

(The Star) – The level of corruption in Malaysia is at a worrying level, admits Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Shukri Abdull.

He said there was no point in toning things down when there are facts to show that corruption is increasing in the country.

“When people ask what is the level of corruption, others normally do not want to give an accurate answer.

“For me, it is at a worrying level. The fact is in 2014, Malaysia’s score in the Corruption Perception Index was 52.

“It is a barely passable score, like a C-grade.

“In 2015, our score reduced to 50. In 2016, it went down to 49 and in 2017, we scored 47. This is worrying if you ask me.

“Around last year, we were infamously known in the world as a kleptocratic nation.

“We were not known as a country with integrity and this is shameful,” said Shukri, during a forum jointly organised by the MACC and the Education Ministry here on Tuesday.

Malaysia’s ranking in the 2017 CPI dropped seven places to 62 out of 180 countries.

In Asean, Malaysia ranked third behind Singapore who scored 84 and Brunei, whose score was 62.

The index ranks countries according to perceived levels of public sector corruption based on input from experts and business people.

It uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.