He said Malaysia had moved up from the 61st spot to 51st in the Corruption Perception Index 2019, as reported by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), recently.

“Today, the prime minister of Malaysia is no longer accused of stealing public funds for personal interest,” he said in a message marking the first anniversary of the NACP today.

Mahathir said in evaluating the performance of the Pakatan Harapan since taking over Putrajaya in May 2018, the matters that showed the greatest impact were efforts to improve governance, integrity and combating corruption.

In the year since the NACP was introduced, various measures were implemented in a structured and detailed manner, starting with the setting up of a special body responsible for coordinating all government efforts in building a culture of integrity among the people.

“At the same time, it also planned the best strategies to fight corruption. This body became an important centre to advise the government on best practices by advanced countries,” he said, referring to the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC).

Apart from these, he underscored the setting of the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption, which came up with various policies to improve the country’s administration

The GIACC acts as the secretariat for the committee.

Sharing facts, Mahathir said 25 initiatives were in place out of the 115 up for implementation between 2019 and 2023.

“This is just the first year of the implementation of the NACP and we can already see results.

“What is important from these initiatives are changes in our systems and institutions, which will ensure these efforts are continuous and sustainable and not seasonal,” he said.