When Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011 was released Thursday, Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) said Malaysia’s latest ranking is the worst in 10 years – falling from 56th place last year to 60th place out of 183 countries while its CPI score fell to the lowest-ever of 4.3.

The TI-M statement is incorrect. In fact, Malaysia’s 2011 TI CPI ranking is the worst in 17 years since the introduction of TI’s annual CPI in 1995.

In the nine years from 1995 to 2003, Tun Dr. Mahathir as Prime Minister saw Malaysia’s TI CPI score stuck in the narrow groove between 4.8 in 2000 to 5.32 in 1996 while the CPI ranking fell 14 places from No. 23 in 1995 to No. 37 in 2003. (10 is highly clean while 0 is highly corrupt)

In the five-year premiership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking fell 10 places from 37 in 2003 to 47 placing in 2008, while the CPI score stuck between 5.0 to 5.1.

In his 2 ½ years as Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak presided over the worst TI CPI ranking and score for Malaysia on many fronts, viz:

* worst single-year plunge in TI CPI ranking of nine placings. i.e. fall from No. 47 in 2008 to No. 56 in 2009.

* most precipitous fall in TI CPI ranking in 2 ½ years under Najib’s premiership, falling 13 placings from No. 47 in 2008 to No. 60 in 2011; when in five years under Abdullah, Malaysia fell 10 places from No. 37 in 2003 to No. 47 in 2008 and in nine years under Mahathir, Malaysia fell 14 places from No. 23 in 1995 to No. 37 in 2003.

* In the past three years 2009 – 2011, the CPI score consistently falling below the score 5, when in first 14 years from 1995 to 2008, Malaysia had only twice fallen below the score of 5, viz: 4.8 in 2000 and 4.9 in 2002.

* Consecutively in the past three years 2009 – 2011, Malaysia’s CPI score falling to ever new lows, i.e. 4.5 for 2009, 4.4 for 2010 and 4.3 for 2011.

There was no mention or reference to the worsening TI CPI ranking and worst TI CPI 2011 score for Malaysia by anyone, whether leader or delegate, in the UMNO General Assembly, although the results were announced on the same day as the UMNO Presidential Speech by Najib Razak last Thursday.

Najib’s Transformation Programme in fighting corruption is a major wash-out when we have TI CPI 2011 showing Malaysia as perceived as more corrupt in 2 ½ years under the new Prime Minister than five years under Abdullah and 22 years under Mahathir!

What is worse, the country was given the impression that the entire UMNO leadership and membership had rallied in support of the UMNO Wanita Leader and Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil despite the RM300 million Cattle Gate “cow condo” scandal.

The message from the UMNO General Assembly cannot be clearer. The war against corruption, cronyism, abuse of power and the urgent need for national reforms to ensure accountability, transparency and integrity are just not in the UMNO DNA and are totally beyond the political will and capacity of UMNO and Barisan Nasional.

Malaysia can only be saved from corruption to begin a new era of national prosperity, international competitiveness, government efficiency, accountability, transparency, integrity, justice and democracy if the country is saved from UMNO and Barisan Nasional in the 13th general elections.
(Speech at the Pakatan Rakyat national rally at Stadium Melawati, Shah Alam on Sunday, 4th December 2011 at 10.30 pm)