In the anti-graft group’s latest report, Malaysia’s ranking among the 180 countries surveyed remained at 57th, the same as in 2023.

The CPI uses a scale of 0 (perceived as being highly corrupted) to 100 (perceived as being very clean).

Malaysia scored 50 points in 2023, 47 in 2022, 48 in 2021 and 51 in 2020.

Denmark topped the index this year with a score of 90, followed by Finland (88), Singapore (84), New Zealand (83), and Luxembourg (81).

Other regional neighbours were ranked much lower than Malaysia, including Vietnam (88th with 40 points), Indonesia (99th-37 points), Thailand (107th-34 points), and the Philippines (114th-33 points).

In a press release, Transparency International Malaysia said it was noteworthy that Malaysia had not dropped in its score or ranking, but reminded Putrajaya that its goal was to be among the top 25 countries by 2033.

“To be there, we need to score 68 to 70 points, which means we must improve our score by at least two points every year,” it added.