Abstract
The Government of Malaysia has made continuous efforts and put in place an elaborate set of strategies and institutions aimed at combating corruption and promoting integrity in the society. The nation’s anti-corruption drive has lately received a major boost. The Badawi government that came to power in 2003 following 22 years of the Mahathir era declared containing corruption as its main priority which was followed by a series of concrete measures. However, the governmental attempts and strategies in Malaysia appear to have met with little success, as evidenced by the current data that suggests entrenched corruption in the society. Evidence shows that despite governmental campaigns and initiatives, corruption has remained acute, widespread and, in fact, worsened in recent years. This paper presents a critical overview of the anti-corruption strategies being followed in Malaysia and explores the problems and limitations of the current approach to fighting corruption and managing integrity in the society.
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Notes
While the legal approach advocates measures like tougher sanctions against corrupt activity alongside audit and oversight, those who support the market strategy are of the view that the most effective way to curb corruption is to remove government control in service provision thereby allowing market forces to operate in a competitive environment. The social approach emphasizes ethical norms, education and public vigilance. The political strategies for eliminating corruption would require broadening of public access to decision making process, enhanced transparency and administrative reforms, among others.
The committee is headed by the Chief Secretary to the government and includes the Director General of Public Service Department, the Director General of ACA, and the Director General of MAMPU as its members.
Necessary legislations have also been put in place. Anti Corruption Act, 1997, Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No. 20, 1970, Penal Code, Police Act 1967, Customs Act 1967, Anti Money Laundering Act, 2001 are among the principal legislations. Taken together, these acts provide a comprehensive legal framework within which various agencies operate and seek to reduce and eliminate corruption in the society.
It is worth noting that these findings were consistent with those of other studies conducted earlier. A 1999 study that used bribe payers index (BPI) and focused on 19 major exporting countries in the world, Malaysia scored only 3.9. The study concluded Malaysia as one of the top bribe giving countries. Another study conducted by Transparency International Malaysia in 2002 focussed on public perception and awareness of corruption in government agencies operating in Selayang area. 60% of the respondents surveyed viewed corruption to be serious within government agencies operating at the local level.
The explanations for such results must be found elsewhere. Despite the adoption of a single agency anti-corruption watchdog the differences in their contexts must be highlighted. Both Hong Kong and Singapore are city states while Malaysia is a large country in terms of its size and population. Unlike Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong have adopted broader definitions of corruption; are largely governed by corporate culture as opposed to Malaysia’s semi-feudal norms and values. While in Malaysia ethnic considerations play important roles in appointments and promotions, merit based civil service and market based compensation system followed in Singapore and Hong Kong have kept nepotism and cronyism at bay. Besides, though ICAC in Hong Kong and CPIB in Singapore operate under the chief executives there is little indication that the political leaders impose any constraints on operations of these agencies. But the ACA in Malaysia operated under political imperatives and required to obtain green signals from the Prime Minister’s Department before investigating and prosecuting some individuals.
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Siddiquee, N.A. Combating Corruption and Managing Integrity in Malaysia: A Critical Overview of Recent Strategies and Initiatives. Public Organ Rev 10, 153–171 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-009-0102-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-009-0102-y