DESPITE suffering a decline in Transparency International’s (TI) corruption perceptions index (CPI) for 2020, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it will continue to probe into ongoing high-profile cases.

MACC said in a statement, it will examine and review the proposals put forward by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M).

“MACC takes note of Malaysia’s position and score in the CPI 2020 as announced by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M).

“We welcome positive feedback regarding CPI 2020, which is related to the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP), the enforcement of Section 17A of the MACC Act as well as the investigation of high-profile cases that are ongoing,” MACC said in a statement.

In yesterday’s CPI for 2020, it was reported that Malaysia scored 51 points out of 100 in 2020, putting it in 57th place out of 180 countries. In 2019, it scored 53 points and was in 51st place.

TI Malaysia president Dr Muhammad Mohan said although it was a slight drop from 2019, the downward trend should not be dismissed.

“Although a drop in the score appears statistically insignificant, the government must be cognisant that our (falling) rank… means that compared to other countries, we are not improving in our efforts to fight corruption,” Muhammad said during livestream briefing of the CPI report today.

The 2019 score of 53 points were a huge improvement from 47 before the 2018 general election when the Barisan Nasional government was removed from power after six decades.

Muhammad added that among the factors contributing to Malaysia’s score decline are delays in the Political Funding Bill, which was to be tabled in Parliament by PH but has yet to happen.

The revision of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill to a watered-down version and a largely ineffective Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) Bill were also factors.

Compared with other Islamic countries, Malaysia comes six places behind the United Arab Emirates, and among Asean countries, Malaysia is third behind Singapore and Brunei.

Singapore is the only country in Asia to be ranked 10th in the world in the CPI. – January 29, 2021.