It is a sad and shameful way to celebrate Malaysia’s 60th anniversary, with an ever-widening circle of nations in the world regarding Malaysia as a state rife with corruption and kleptocracy – from the United States, Europe, Asia and now even in Africa.

The Federal Government and the national institutions have not lifted a finger in the last few years to clear and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and ignominy of being regarded by the world not only as a new member of the infamous club of world kleptocracies but shooting up to a leading position as a global kleptocracy.

Malaysia’s failure to ensure and maintain good governance and descent to a kleptocracy is reflected by the history of the 22-year annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 1995-2016, which shows that Malaysia had stagnated and even regressed in integrity and principles of accountability and good governance in the past two decades as compared to some countries, like China and Indonesia.

In the first year of TI CPI in 1995, which listed only 41 countries, Malaysia was ranked in the middling position of No. 23 with a score above the midpoint – i.e. 5.28 in a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean).

China and Indonesia came in at the bottom end, with China ranked as No. 40 with a score of 2.16 out of 10 while Indonesia came in last ranking No. 41 out of 41 with a score of 1.94.

If Malaysia had made a decimal-point improvement in the TI CPI score of 0.1 point each year the past 22 years, Malaysia’s present score would have been 7.48, or roughly translated into 74.8 out of a scale increased from 10 to 100, which would have placed Malaysia in the rank around No. 18 of the least-corrupt nations out of 176 countries.

Unfortunately, Malaysia’s TI CPI worsened with the TI CPI ranking falling to No. 55 out of 176 countries while the TI CPI score fell below the midpoint to 49 in the new scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

In contrast, both China and Indonesia have made significant improvements in the TI CPI in the past 22 years, with China improving its score from 2.16/10 in 1995 to 40/100 with its TI CPI Ranking improving from No. 40/41 in 1995 to 79/176 in 2016 and Indonesia improving its score from 1.94/10 in 1995 to 37/100 with TI CPI ranking from 41/41 in 1995 to 90/176.

If for the next two decades, China and Indonesia improve in their TI CPI ranking and score at their pace in the past 22 years, while Malaysia stagnates, both countries would have overtaken Malaysia in both the TI CPI ranking and score well before 2040. We do not even have to wait for National Transformation (TN) 2050!

When Malaysian voters go to the polls in the forthcoming 14th General Elections, which would be held in the first half of next year, the clearing and cleansing of Malaysia as a global kleptocracy and the restoration of democracy and good governance should be one of the common top objectives of Malaysian voters, regardless of race, religion, region or even political affiliation.

(Speech at the DAP Bukit Mor Branch, Muar, Anniversary Dinner on Sunday, 19th November 2017 at 9pm)