MALAYSIA’S decline in the 2021 Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) would have been steeper if the share ownership controversy of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki had been included, Lim Guan Eng said.

The country’s score in the annual report fell for the second time in a row, dropping three points from last year’s report. Its ranking fell to 62nd from 57th in 2020.

This is the lowest ever recorded in the TI-CPI ranking.

In a statement, the DAP secretary-general said had Azam’s share shenanigans been included, Malaysia would not have been sitting in the 62nd spot.

The Bagan MP, nonetheless, said the drastic drop of five points from 53 in 2019 to 48 this year “just adds on to Malaysia’s growing list of failures that is endemic to a failed state”.

Lim said Malaysia’s “depressing failures” include managing the Covid-19 epidemic; the economy, which continues to be mired in recession from the disastrous serial lockdowns that caused more than RM500 billion in economic losses; a political crises caused by weak “unelected government”; the recent flood disaster that claimed more than 55 lives and caused RM20 billion in economic losses; and the present corruption scandals.

Referring to Transparency International Malaysia’s (TI-M) mention on the need to reform MACC, Lim said it shows the anti-graft agency is not part of the country’s corruption solution but part of the problem.

“Not only has MACC been used as a political weapon against opposition politicians, its high-ranking officers are also embroiled in corrupt practices and abuse of power,” he said.

“MACC investigations and threats of prosecution for corruption charges will descend upon opposition MPs but then magically disappear after they defect to support the prime minister.”

He said nothing highlights the fact that MACC is part of the problem than Azam’s refusal to take leave and allow an independent and credible panel of investigators to seek the truth from the attempted cover-up of the scandal involving his share trading account.

“Azam has refused to justify his unexplained wealth involving millions of shares valued at millions of ringgit and extraordinary volume of shares traded,” he said.

“Unless Azam fully explains why he lied that his brother operated his share trading account by proxy as well as the source of funds to conduct large share transactions, Malaysia’s TI-CPI index will never improve.”

TI-M, in its report, has stated that there is a need to reform MACC to make it truly independent and place it under the purview of Parliament as well as protect whistleblowers who have not enjoyed full protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010. – January 26, 2022.