Press Statement by PAC Chairman and MP for Ipoh Timur, Wong Kah Woh on 2 December 2020

1) The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) views seriously the Global Corruption Barometer Asia Report published by Transparency International (TI) which found that 71% of Malaysians believe that corruption in the government is a serious problem and that 39% of Malaysians believe that corruption has increased within the past 12 months.

2) The same report also showed that 30% of Malaysians feel that the government haven’t done its best in fighting against corruption and 13% of Malaysians have given bribes to the civil service within the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the satisfaction rate for MACC is at 74%.

3) At the same time, 25% of Malaysians surveyed opined that the President/Prime Minister is corrupt, and this is higher compared to 9 other Asian countries which are Taiwan (24%), Maldives (22%), Bangladesh (20%), Indonesia (20%), Myanmar (18%), China (15%), Vietnam (8%), Philippines (7%) and Cambodia (7%).

4) Furthermore, 36% of Malaysians surveyed opined that their Members of Parliament are corrupt, and this is higher compared to 7 other Asian countries which are Bangladesh (18%), Taiwan (17%), Myanmar (14%), Philippines (12%), China (11%), Cambodia (6%) and Vietnam (6%).

5) Parliament’s PAC opines that these figures show Malaysians’ lack of confidence in the integrity of our nation’s public administration and its personnel. Factors that contributed to such a situation must be identified and efforts towards fighting corruption must be increased. Moreover, the efficacy of the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) should be studied considering the timeframe of the report’s questionnaire were administered during NACP’s implementation.

6) Parliament’s PAC will be inviting Transparency International to give us a briefing regarding the Global Corruption Barometer Asia report that was published. PAC will also be inviting the MACC Chief Commissioner to give us a report and comment on the Global Corruption Barometer Asia report. Furthermore, MACC will also give a brief on the direction of its fight against corruption and improving the integrity of our nation’s public administration.

Thank you.

Wong Kah Woh,
Parliament’s PAC Chairman,
MP for Ipoh Timur.