Malaysia scored 47 out of 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2017 released today by the anti-graft group.
While Malaysia emerges third among 10 Asean countries, it was left far behind in terms of scores.
Top-placed Singapore, which is also ranked sixth globally, scored 84, while Brunei came in second with a score of 62.
In his reaction, veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang said Malaysia’s performance in the latest CPI index was worse than during the administration of Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“The history of the 23-year annual CPI from 1995-2017 shows that Malaysia had stagnated and even regressed in integrity and principles of accountability and good governance in the past two decades as compared to some countries, like China and Indonesia, which had made significant improvements with steady strides,” said Lim.
“What is being done to improve Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking and score?” he asked, adding that authorities have often labelled allegations of graft as “fake news”.
The CPI is based on surveys from business people, including risk analysts and the general public working in the countries evaluated. It is based on at least three independent surveys of the perceptions in each country. Malaysia used nine sources.