Today is International Anti-Corruption Day – a day designated by the United Nations General Assembly on 31st October 2003 when it adopted the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
When Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister in April 2009 and announced the first of his 1Malaysia Transformation Plans – the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) – top priority was given to the war against corruption, which was listed as one of the seven NKRAs (National Key Result Areas).
What has Malaysia got to show on the anti-corruption front on the 8th International Anti-Corruption Day, bearing in mind Najib’s assurance that GTP is aimed at delivering big results fast in the public service that were most important to the people.
What are the “big results” on the anti-corruption NKRA that had been delivered in the past 32 months of the Najib administration?
“Big results” have indeed been delivered by the anti-corruption NKRA in the past 32 months but they are all negative, viz:
• The worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking and score for Malaysia in 17 years, placed No 60 out of 183 countries with a score of 4.3 out of 10.
• Utter failure of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which replaced the former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in 2009, and purported to be modelled to be another Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong – despite being given huge annual budgets of over RM200 million;
• Related to two deaths at MACC premises – Teoh Beng Hock in July 2009 and Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed on April 6, 2011.
• The grand total of four politicians arrested for corruption in 2010 as compared to 23 in 2009.
On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day, Malaysians are entitled to ask whether MACC which took over from ACA in 2009 is an utter waste of public funds.
What has happened to the five-year National Integrity Plan launched in 2004 targetting Malaysia to be ranked at least No. 30th in TI CPI with a score of 6.5 by the year 2008?
Parliament approved a RM202.2 million budget for MACC for 2011 and all it has to show is the country’s lowest CPI ranking of No. 60 and lowest-ever score of 4.3.
In 1996, Parliament approved a budget of RM29.4 million for the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and that was the year when Malaysia was ranked No. 26 and achieved the highest CPI score of 5.32 in the past 17 years.
Malaysians are entitled to compare the budgets given to ACA in 1996 and to MACC in 2011, and the TI CPI of Malaysia in these two years, and to ask why MACC which has been given a budget almost seven times given to ACA in 1996 and with greatly increased staff and resources, had brought Malaysia’s TI CPI in 2011 to the lowest ranking of 60 and score of 4.3 when in 1996 we could be ranked No. 26 with a score of 5.32?
It would appear that the bigger the budget and more staffing and resources given to MACC, the more corrupt Malaysia has become. Where have the increased RM172.8 million in the anti-corruption budgets between 1996 and 2011 gone to?
The annual budgets allocated to ACA till 2008 and MACC from 2009 (below) are not puny sums but they have not achieved their objective of fighting corruption in Malaysia, giving proper cause for a full and special audit by the Auditor-General to find the reasons why:
Year Annual Budget (RM)
1994 28.6 million 1995 29.9 million 1996 29.5 million 1997 32.4 million 1998 32.2 million 1999 38.2 million 2000 41.8 million 2002 63.8 million 2003 67.7 million 2004 70.4 million 2005 76.4 million 2006 99.1 million 2007 148.1 million 2008 146.7 million 2009 162.1 million 2010 156.8 million 2011 202.2 million 2012 211.2 million
Can Najib explain this strange phenomenon, resulting in his administration perceived as the most corrupt, whether in CPI ranking or score, as compared to the five-year premiership of Tun Abdullah or 22-year premiership of Tun Mahathir?
Can the Prime Minister continue to be silent on Malaysia’s lowest-ever CPI ranking and score? If Malaysia’s 2011 CPI had achieved an incremental increase say of 4.6, Najib would not be so mum but would be the first to crow and claim credit with full fanfare on television, radio and the printed media.
All the more why Malaysians want the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the MACC to explain why despite given record budgets approved for MACC (RM211.2 million for 2002), there is not only so little to show in anti-corruption but the country had gone backwards and overtaken by other countries not only in the Asia-Pacific but by other OIC and African countries.