FOREIGN investors would not shun Malaysia because of its rank in the corruption perception index (CPI) given by global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI), Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki said today. 

He said that there was no data to prove that investors were rejecting Malaysia based on the CPI report, which he claimed was just a “perception”. 

“I don’t have data (not with me yet) but based on reports from Bank Negara Malaysia, there is no reason for foreign investors to run away based on perception. 

“If there are investors who do not want to invest here based on perception, then I don’t know why (it is so),” the MACC chief said at a media event in Putrajaya today. 

Earlier, Azam said that the CPI does not necessarily reflect the “real corruption situation” in a country. 

He said the report was neither factual nor based on evidence.

Casting doubts over the CPI report, he asked if it really does keep the investors away from a particular country. 

Azam said foreign investors were still investing in other countries where the perception is far worse than Malaysia. 

“Is It because of the perception investors will shy away? Shy away from the country? You better check.

“If you say that Vietnam and Thailand are better than we are (in attracting foreign investors) but their corruption perception index is worse than ours. 

“So I cannot answer that part because of the perception investors will shy away,” he said.

Azam said that investors could avoid Malaysia for other reasons besides CPI, which he said he was not aware of. 

For the 2021 CPI, Malaysia dropped five spots to rank 62 out of 180 countries, marking the second consecutive year the country has declined in its ranking.

In terms of scores, Malaysia scored 48 last year, down from 51 in 2020, which was also a drop from 53 in 2019.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysia is in third place behind Singapore and Brunei.

Among the Islamic countries, Malaysia is ranked sixth, behind United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Brunei, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The CPI is an index that ranks countries by their “perceived” levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

It uses a scale of zero to 100, with lower scores indicating higher corruption.

The CPI generally defines corruption as an “abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.

TI has been publishing the index annually since 1995. – July 21, 2022.