THE plunge in Malaysia’s ranking in an international graft index is not a reflection of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s robust work the last year, but due to the increasing “malfeasance” of the country’s leadership, said anti-corruption watchdog C4 Centre. 

Its executive director, Cynthia Gabriel, said there was no need to for MACC to establish its own corruption rating in response to Malaysia’s falling rank in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

“What Malaysia really needs is to break the back of the inner workings of grand and entrenched corruption,” she said. 

The CPI released yesterday showed Malaysia dropped seven rungs to 62nd place. This is the country’s worst ranking since the global index on the perception of corruption in a country was released in 1995.

MACC chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad said the CPI did not reflect the work that MACC had been doing, adding that the commission would create its own corruption index.  

Cynthia said the CPI may have shocked the MACC chief, but not most Malaysians.

She said public institutions investigating the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal have been “the biggest victims of a regime bent on hiding the truth”, adding that institutional checks to ensure the integrity of leadership “have all been compromised”. 

The shady transactions surrounding state investment arm 1MDB have sparked investigations in multiple jurisdictions worldwide.

Last year, the United States Department of Justice filed a civil suit to recover hundred of millions of dollars in assets it said were bought with money misappropriated form 1MDB.

Malaysian authorities have admitted only “weaknesses” in 1MDB’s governance but have not charged anybody with any crime related to the state investor’s dealings.

“Foreign experts and business analysts have not been convinced that the government and its leadership are fully absolved in a procedurally honest manner,” Cynthia said. 

She acknowledged that although medium-sized and petty corruption may have been reduced over the past year, it is the “grand corruption that have overwhelmed our nation, in addressing serious malfeasance in the political leadership and in our public institutions”.

C4 Centre called for more robust laws on political financing and asset declaration, better governance practices and freedom of information.

“The time is now for PM Najib to answer for all his scandals before moving to get a fresh mandate from the people this coming general elections,” Cynthia said. – February 23, 2018.