Malaysia committed to be among top 25
AMONG the important things announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Madani: Empowering People’s Economy launch ceremony was Malaysia’s target to be in the top 25 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
This is one of the government’s key commitments over the next 10 years.
Although many parties are of the view that the CPI is not a true measure of the reality of corruption in a country, it should not be dismissed lightly as it impacts the nation’s global image.
South Korea is one of the countries that managed to improve its score and position in the CPI.
In 2016, South Korea scored 53 points and was ranked 52 out of 176 countries.
Consequently, it recorded an increase in the world index for six consecutive years.
Most recently, the 2022 CPI showed South Korea’s score increased by 10 points to 63 and it was ranked 31st out of 180 countries.
However, Malaysia’s score and position in the CPI does not seem to have changed much. In addition, it has recorded a downward trend over the past few years.
Malaysia had a CPI score of 49 points and was ranked 55 out of 176 countries in 2016.
In 2022, Malaysia scored 47 points and was ranked 61st out of 180 countries. Ironically, before 2006, Malaysia’s CPI was better than South Korea’s.
Malaysia and South Korea used to share the same score and position in 2007, with a score of 5.1 (old CPI format), ranking 43 out of 179 countries.
South Korea was not a country renowned for having administrative staff and politicians who were free from corruption. Some of South Korea’s top leaders have faced legal proceedings for such offences.
Among them, its 33rd prime minister, Han Myeong-sook, was imprisoned for two years for accepting political contributions amounting to 900 million won ; its 11th president Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 20 years for accepting bribes amounting to 23.1 million won from several major companies; and the 39th prime minister Lee Wan-Koo was charged in court for receiving unlawful political contributions amounting to 30 million won.
Lee Wan-Koo was acquitted of the charges, but the 10th president Lee Myung-bak was sentenced to 17 years in prison for accepting a bribe amounting to 11 billion won to free former Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, who was imprisoned for tax evasion.
In South Korea, anti-corruption efforts are led by the AntiCorruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC).
The ACRC does not have the authority to conduct investigations. Its main responsibility is to underline policies related to corruption prevention, implement prevention initiatives and carry out public awareness activities.
The investigation and prosecution of corruption cases is carried out by the police force, the public prosecutor’s office and the new Anti-Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO).
South Korea has several major initiatives to strengthen integrity among its civil servants, contributing to the improvement of its CPI ranking.
The first requires South Korean civil servants to attend courses on integrity, ethics and corruption prevention.
This annual training is organised by ACRC’s Anti-Corruption Training Institute. Other agencies such as the National Human Resources Development Institute (NHI) also organise integrity and ethics-based courses.
In Malaysia, this initiative is carried out by the Integrity Unit in all public agencies. It is also a requirement as stated in Service Circular Number 14 of 2012: Mind Transformation Programme and General Circular Number 4 of 2021: Integrity and Anti-Corruption Governance Strengthening Module.
The second initiative involves all public agencies in South Korea undergoing an integrity assessment, which the ACRC conducts annually. Interestingly, the grade of each public agency is disclosed to the public. Subsequently, recommended actions are made for the participating agencies to improve their grades.
In our country, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) conducts two assessments on public agencies, namely the Public Service Corruption Ranking (PSCR) and the Review of the Effectiveness of the Implementation of Anti-Corruption Initiatives by Public Agencies.
In contrast to South Korea, the results of MACC’s assessments are not disclosed to the public. To enhance transparency, it is recommended that the findings be disclosed to the public.
The third initiative involves civil servants and senior officials of public agencies in South Korea being required to declare their assets annually. This can also be accessed by the public.
In contrast, civil servants in Malaysia are only required to declare their assets every five years. The declaration of assets is made via the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) and is not accessible to the public.
On the other hand, administrative staff and members of parliament are obligated to declare their assets every two years.
According to the Code of Ethics for Members of Administration and Members of Parliament issued in December 2018, the asset declaration documents must be submitted to the prime minister with copies to the MACC.
South Korea is seen to have successfully inculcated a mindset to resist corruption, misconduct, and wrongdoings among its citizens.
Public servants undergo training to be vigilant when receiving gifts from those who are engaged in official dealings with them.
In schools, it has become a practice for students to give presents to teachers during Teacher’s Day. However, schools in South Korea only allow inexpensive gifts to be given.
This does not only educate the teachers but also parents not to use presents as an excuse for bribery.
In the context of Malaysia, the initiatives and endeavours put into action are indeed commendable.
Malaysia has established the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023, which serves as the country’s policy for preventing corruption. Besides that, various initiatives have been implemented, including enforcement actions, prevention and education.
It is undeniable that the success of the MACC in uncovering high-profile and public-interest corruption cases has enhanced the commission’s credibility.
However, these efforts are insufficient to improve Malaysia’s corruption perception index.
Effective corruption prevention requires government commitment, robust enforcement, effective implementation of prevention initiatives and comprehensive education.
The main recipe for South Korea’s success lies in transparency in government administration.
The element of transparency is capable of manifesting the government’s commitment in enhancing good governance, thereby avoiding negative perceptions among the public.
To achieve the government’s goal for Malaysia to being ranked in the top 25 in the CPI ranking, there are many more things we could learn from South Korea.