KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — The fall in public confidence for the government’s fight against corruption merits the exit of Senator Datuk Paul Low who was brought into the Najib administration to burnish its credentials on integrity, a DAP lawmaker said today.

Citing a survey conducted by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) that was previously headed by Low, DAP assistant national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching noted that only 28 per cent of Malaysian believed that the government is effective in tackling corruption.

The findings are sufficient evidence that the Putrajaya’s touted Government Transformation Plan (GTP) is a failure and that Low - the immediate past president of TI-M - has not delivered results.

"The appointment of Paul Low was so that he could ensure the government walks the talk in tackling graft. However, Low's appointment does not seem to have helped the perception on corruption to improve," Teo said in a statement.

"Despite his appointment as a minister, the number of people who believe that the government can tackle corruption has shrunk to its smallest in five years," the Kulai MP added.

TI-M revealed in its Malaysian Corruption Barometer 2014 yesterday that just 28 per cent of Malaysians believed the country’s effort to reduce corruption was effective.

This was worse compared to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2013 report that cited 31 per cent of Malaysian respondents believed the government was doing well in tackling graft.

The number of respondents willing to report corruption also fell from 79 per last year to 51 per cent this year, with 46 per cent of those unwilling to report corruption saying that they are afraid of reprisals.

Today, Teo said Low should follow the lead of Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy, who resigned his positions in the government and Senate last February over what the latter felt was the administration’s failure to deliver on its electoral promises.

She said TI-M's survey shows that either Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had merely appointed Low for "window-dressing", or that the former TI-M chief is simply incapable of discharging his duties.

"Whichever it is, if Paul Low is a man of integrity, he should follow the footstep of Waytha Moorthy," she said.

Low and Waythamoorthy were appointed by Najib after Election 2013, but both came under attack almost immediately.

Low’s inclusion in the Cabinet is regularly targeted when issues of corruption and the country’s performance in anti-graft indices are released, owing to his portfolio and history as TI-M chief.