KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Malaysia under the Pakatan Harapan government has freed itself of corruption and abuse of power through various initiatives implemented after the general election in 2018, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
Expressing satisfaction with this achievement, he said Malaysia has also garnered international recognition as a result of these efforts.
“From being labelled a kleptocratic country mired in various graft scandals and abuse of power, our country is now being praised for having surmounted these formidable challenges and is respected as a clean and democratic government,” he said in a statement.
The various measures undertaken to combat corruption and abuse of power as well as strengthen the country’s administrative and enforcement institutions have propelled Malaysia from the 61st spot in 2018 to 51st position among 180 countries in the 2019 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the best achievement over a span of eight years.
As for the Democracy Index 2019, Malaysia has also done well, moving up nine steps to 43rd position among 167 countries. Malaysia also registered its best-ever score of 7.16 points out of a maximum of 10 since the inception of the index in 2006.
“These achievements can be attributed to the unwavering commitment of the new government to reforms implemented progressively since May 2018 in the administrative, media, legislative, political and socio-economic sectors,” he said.
Gobind said some of the initiatives which led to these achievements are the fulfillment of the Pakatan Harapan election pledges, including swift action in the matter of high-profile cases such as 1MDB, SRC, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT), Felda and Tabung Haji.
Greater press freedom, having a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by an opposition MP, requiring lawmakers to declare their assets and the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Plan have also been contributing factors, he said.
Nevertheless, Gobind said, the government is not resting on its laurels as it remains committed to doing whatever else is necessary to ensure the country is free from corruption.
The minister expressed the hope that the people will continue to back the government in its endeavour to keep Malaysia clean and corruption-free.
“Malaysia is now seen as a country that is chalking up successes in its relentless battle against corruption. This is indeed a major achievement for the new government and it is part of the measures being taken to ensure the successful realisation of the 2030 Shared Prosperity Vision,” he said. — Bernama
