Yeah Kim Leng, a professor at Sunway University’s Business School, said it is important to note how the perception of corruption may have an impact on new investors that are looking to secure an investment in the country.
“Their perception of the country might be affected by Malaysia’s drop in the ranking. They may compare our country with other nations which are ranked higher,” he said.
Yeah was referring to the release of the latest global index on corruption by Transparency International (TI) on Wednesday.
The report put Malaysia seven spots lower than in 2016, at 62 among 180 countries. It was Malaysia’s worst performance in the last five years, having scored 47 out of 100 points in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). In 2016, Malaysia scored 49 points.
Malaysia came out third among 10 Asean countries, but was far behind Singapore and Brunei in terms of the CPI score.
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 perception on corruption in each country.
“For the investors that have decided or have already invested in the country, it may not shake their confidence. But it might make a big difference to new investors.
“That is why, if no action is taken to combat corruption in the coming years, then investors would question the commitment from the government,” Yeah told FMT.
Yesterday, Transparency International-Malaysia president Akhbar Satar said the recent conviction of PKR’s Rafizi Ramli over his role in exposing the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal had also influenced businessmen and investors’ perception of Malaysia’s commitment against corruption, adding that they “are losing faith in our system”.
Yeah said the drop in the ranking suggested that we have to enhance the effectiveness of the efforts taken to fight corruption.
“It should not just be a matter of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) doing their job but also be about improving the level of governance to reduce the incidences of corruption.”
He called for the relevant parties to see the ranking as a warning to ensure that we reverse the situation as it might have a long-term effect on investment and the business community as a whole.
Similarly, Socio-Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie said the deterioration in the CPI warrants both the government and MACC paying the utmost attention to the matter.
“They need to ward off the perception that corruption is rife in the country and intensify their efforts to counter corrupt practices,” Lee said.
Lee, who heads the think-tank under the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) said any negative perception must be looked into seriously and be corrected so as not to undermine our national economic agenda.
“Pervasive corruption must be eliminated before it damages our country’s international image and reputation.”
Malaysia drops further in global graft index, worst in 5 years