Malaysia's corruption perception rating stagnates in 2022 with many accused politicians still in power

From warships costing billions of ringgit that have yet to materialise and feared kickbacks in massive contracts for flood and 5G projects, a stinging corruption index rating suggests that Malaysia's politicians have failed to get a handle on dishonest and fraudulent conduct - with many of the accused on rotation through different governments.

Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perception Index, released at the end of January by the Berlin-based NGO, gave Malaysia a rating of 47, on a scale of one to 100, where one equals the most corrupt.

Like many Southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, Malaysia has stagnated on the index. According to Transparency International, that stems from politicians' empty promises to combat corruption as influence and alliance-building trump accountability.

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But inaction carries major consequences, the group says.

"Although countries [in the region] have been effective in cases of petty corruption, grand corruption is still rampant," said Ilham Mohamed, Asia adviser for Transparency International.

"For an average person, you might not come across requests for bribes and such on a day-to-day basis, but funding that goes in education, housing, health systems and infrastructure projects will be swindled in a manner that is extremely hard to trace."

Malaysia's score was a point lower than last year but keeps the country firmly tracking downwards on the internationally recognised scale from a 'high' of 53 in 2019.

At the core of its woes is the ulcerous scandal of the looted state fund 1MDB, which revealed corruption among its top politicians including former prime minister Najib Razak, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence on allegations of corruption and money laundering. He has denied all charges against him.

But corruption allegations have tainted many who have occupied Malaysia's top offices in recent years, as politicians stay glued to the merry-go-round of power, keeping scandals just about at bay.

To piece together a coalition government after last November's general election, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim appointed Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as his deputy. Ahmad Zahid is facing 47 charges of bribery, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust. He denies the allegations.

In recent years, Malaysia has posted an ignominious list of big-budget corruption scandals.

Malaysians discovered in August that 6 billion ringgit (US$1.3 billion) had been paid in a procurement deal for six small naval ships that remained undelivered well past their deadline. The scandal added to pressure on then-prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from his former ruling Umno party to call for early elections.

In 2014, the government and contractor Boustead Naval Shipyard signed a record contract totalling 9 billion ringgit for the delivery of six littoral combat ships.

But the August deadline for delivery was missed, with a report by the Public Accounts Committee finding none of the ships had been completed despite the government paying two-thirds of the contract value to the shipyard.

During his campaign in the elections that ensued, Anwar called for the project to be scrapped.

"The next phase [of the project] must be stopped as there have yet to be any commitments made," he said at a parliament press conference. "The half a billion [for the next phase of the project] should be spent for the welfare of veterans who have been clamouring for support."

Yet since coming to power, Anwar has decided to proceed with the project.

Activists are also questioning deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid's role in the controversy, as he headed the defence ministry during early negotiations for the project.

"[Anwar] has to give us a full explanation for this about-turn and assure us that we will get to the bottom of this scandal which involves his deputy, Zahid," said social activist Kua Kia Soong.

"There will be other huge military contracts in the future and taxpayers must be assured that a new system will be in place to ensure that such dubious carryings-on never happen again."

Anwar has ordered a review into several government projects worth billions of dollars that he inherited from his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin, alleging they did not follow proper procedures.

These include a plan for a state-owned 5G network and flood mitigation projects worth 7 billion ringgit (US$1.59 billion).

Fighting corruption in Malaysia is a huge task, experts warn, in the aftermath of fraud surrounding 1MDB, which was set up for energy and infrastructure projects but ultimately lined the pockets of government officials, bankers and intermediaries with billions of US dollars of state cash.

"There still needs to be quite a bit of mending and strengthening of integrity in infrastructures within Malaysia to ensure that this does not happen again," said Ilham of Transparency International.

Ilham also pointed to concerns that politicians facing a large number of corruption allegations continue to maintain a high-level position in government, referring to Ahmad Zahid.

Malaysia is rated on a par with Jordan in Transparency International's index, and just above China (45) and Vietnam (42).

Neighbouring Indonesia has been plagued with graft scandals and a police corruption problem that has long undermined the credibility of its law enforcement agencies.

Indonesia fell from 38 to 34 on Transparency Index's 2022 Corruption Perception Index.

Experts say that the country's poor performance on the index stems primarily from an amendment of the law establishing the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

For many years, the KPK played a crucial role in investigating corruption among Indonesia's state-owned companies, government agencies and private sector.

But a 2019 amendment brought the once-independent KPK under government oversight, alarming anti-corruption activists and prompting street protests, where some bemoaned the death of one of the few effective tools against corruption.

Many of the KPK's investigations had previously involved members of parliament, including a former speaker of the house who was convicted of corruption.

"It is quite alarming how much the independence of the KPK has been compromised through the new laws from the government," said Danang Widoyoko, secretary general of Transparency International Indonesia.

Experts say Indonesian President Joko Widodo's administration has shifted its focus away from early democratic advances.

"Now, it is more commonly viewed as prioritising economic growth and stability over civil and political rights. This includes deprioritising anti-corruption," said David Aled Williams, principal adviser at U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre.

And on the ground, the public has grown increasingly disillusioned with police, who have in recent years come under fire for cases involving bribery and money laundering.

In November, a video surfaced showing former Samarinda City Police intelligence unit officer, Ismail Bolong, admitting to conveying bribes totalling 6 billion rupiah (US$397,000) relating to illegal mining activities in East Kalimantan to national police investigator Agus Andrianto.

Many high-ranking police officers have also come under fire for flaunting lavish lifestyles, despite being prohibited from owning luxury items.

Even KPK chairman, police inspector general Firli Bahuri, was sanctioned in 2020 for exhibiting a hedonistic lifestyle, but ultimately kept his job.

"There are many opposed to police reform in Indonesia, and it remains to be seen whether the recent scandals will lead to changes," Williams said.

Experts say that turning the tide of corruption is a long term battle, particularly as the region backslides on democratic principles and laws tighten to favour the powerful.

Civic spaces that protect and encourage whistle-blowers are shrinking and the public, in parallel, sees its voice weaken.

"Both in Indonesia and Malaysia, we see a lot of public demand for anti-corruption measures and to eradicate corruption," Ilham said.

"What we are not seeing is enough leadership to make these structural changes that need to be in place to ensure that the system is clean going forward."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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