The index ranks 182 countries based on perceived levels of public sector corruption, using a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Raymon Ram announced today that Malaysia scored 52 points for 2025, up from 50 in both 2024 and 2023.

The latest results mark an improvement after years of largely stagnant scores, with 47 points recorded in 2022, 48 in 2021 and 51 in 2020.

In a statement later, TI-M however cautioned against complacency despite Malaysia’s improved showing.

“The challenge now is to sustain and accelerate reforms year on year if Malaysia is to achieve the prime minister’s stated goal of becoming a top-25 ranked country in the CPI by 2033,” said the NGO.

Raymon said Malaysia also still needs a political financing act to make political finances clearer and fair.

“The continued absence of binding disclosure requirements, contribution limits, and independent enforcement mechanisms allows opaque political funding and undue influence to remain a structural corruption risk,” he said.

Among others, TI-M attributed Malaysia’s improved score to Malaysia’s National Anti-Corruption Strategy, alongside active enforcement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission against senior public officials and political elites.