‘Battle for graft far from over’
CORRUPTION is one of the main factors stunting economic growth and stamping it out is crucial towards ensuring that all Malaysians benefit equally.
A 1999 study in the Journal of Comparative Economics by Mo Pak Hung from the Hong Kong Baptist University found that a one per cent increase in corruption reduces the growth rate by 0.72%.
“The most important channel through which corruption affects economic growth is political instability,” Mo noted.
It is no wonder that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reiterated the call to “amputate the cancerous limbs” of corruption and abuse of power, which prevented distribution of wealth from being carried out in a just and fair manner.
As high-profile cases on corrupt practices by senior government officers fill up airwaves and news pages, the number of corruption cases involving commercial organisations is just as alarming.
According to the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC), nearly 800 people were arrested in the past five years over corruption in commercial organisations.
Malaysia recognises this problem and has waged a long war against corruption and abuse of power.
While past efforts have proven to show some results, the battle is far from over.
In the recent Corruption Perception Index 2018 by Transparency International, Malaysia ranked 61 out of 180 countries polled with a score of 47 points, one step up from TI’s 2017 poll.
In 2016, it ranked 55 among 176 countries polled with a score of 49 points.
The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
It also ranks countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople.
But the fight must continue and MACC has taken more active steps to educate Malaysians about the detrimental effects of corruption, even bringing it down to the school level in an attempt to nurture young minds to say no to corruption and be mindful of abuses of power.
MACC is working to drive home the message that giving and receiving bribes is a disease and should be treated as such.
However, Chief Commissioner Latheefa Koya said treating the disease was not enough and there was a need to correct an environment that breeds and promotes corrupt practices.
Despite fluctuating rankings, there is light at the end of the tunnel as continued efforts are paying off.
National Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre director-general Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed had reportedly said that people were gaining confidence in the government’s seriousness to stamp out corrupt practices as public perception rose to 70.8% last year from just 59.8% in 2016.
He called upon all stakeholders to apply principles of transparency, accountability and integrity, as well as compliance with good governance to eradicate corruption and shape a corruption-free nation.
“Building the culture of integrity must come from the top,” he said at the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum 2019 in September.