KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): Some 71% of Malaysians think that Government corruption is a big problem, with Parliament, the police and Government officials ranked the highest for the perception of corruption among public institutions, said Transparency International – Malaysia. (TI-M)

TI-M said this was according to the Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020 survey, which covered 20,000 people across 17 countries. In Malaysia, the survey was conducted between July 2019 and June 2020, covering both the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and current Perikatan Nasional (PN) administrations.

TI-M said 36% of those surveyed felt Members of Parliament to be corrupt, and 39% strongly believed that corruption was on the rise.

“However, in another question 67% felt that the Government is doing a good job of fighting corruption.

“Here, it is likely this positive feedback is due to the aggressive actions taken by the enforcement authorities like the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) as well as policies put in place by the GIACC (Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre) and the NACP (National Anti-Corruption Plan),” it said in a statement today.

TI-M said 7% of surveyed Malaysians had been bribed for their votes in an election, which is lower than the average in Asia of 14%.

Meanwhile, 15% of Malaysians had utilised personal connections when accessing public services, lower than the Asian average of 22%.

Additionally, 67% of Malaysians had faith the MACC was doing a good job in curbing corruption, which is slightly higher than the Asian average of 63%.

“Lastly, of all Malaysians surveyed, a total 68% still believed that ordinary people can make a difference in fighting corruption, which is higher than the average in Asia of 62%,” said TI-M.

“Hence, Malaysians are still very hopeful and have not lost faith in law enforcement or public service, despite their experiences, and it is clear that the rakyat believe we can all fight corruption,” noted TI-M president Dr Muhammad Mohan.

“However, there appears to be a slight dip in expectations when it comes to politicians and their officials of late — this may have to do with all the political instability, party jumping, allegations of money politics, and corruption scandals involving political figures,” he said.

He said that if the Government wishes to improve its image amongst the rakyat it serves, it must get its act together.

“The NACP (National Anti-Corruption Plan) has to implemented and enforced without delays, amendments, watering down or U-turns, as observed with regards to the IPCMC (Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission) Bill in BN, PH and PN’s times.

“The Political Finance Act also needs to be tabled in Parliament in order to limit and control money politics, party hopping and election-related bribery,” he added.