Kit Siang takes MACC to task on CPI ranking

GEORGE TOWN: DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang (pix) is puzzled over the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission's (MACC) reaction to Malaysia's ranking in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
Lim said Malaysia had scored better in the CPI rankings during the tenure of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
He said the results did not reflect MACC's aggressive approach in combating graft.
Malaysia ranked 62 among 180 countries in the CPI last year, dropping from 55th spot in 2016.
Lim said countries such as China and Indonesia will do better than Malaysia in the years to come if no effort is taken to improve the country's ranking.
He also took to task Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan and the 20-odd members of five bodies which monitor the MACC.
The bodies are the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board, Special Committee on Corruption, Complaints Committee, Operations Review Panel and the Corruption Consultation and Prevention Panel.
Transparency InternationaI Malaysia (TI-M) president Datuk Akhbar Satar said this is Malaysia's worst score in the last five years and the lowest ranking since the CPI was introduced in 1994.
In an immediate reaction following the announcement of the results, MACC chief Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad pledged to further improve the situation and proposed to set up a local corruption index to analyse anti-corruption scores in all aspects.
Dzulkifli said the special corruption index should reflect the reality of the corruption level in the country and not just be based on perception.
Saying the local index should be implemented independently by experts and academicians, he added that the proposal will be presented to the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board soon before it is brought to the Cabinet within three months.
Although he did not dismiss the report outright, he said the CPI should have been better this time as enforcement last year was more aggressive than in previous years.