Malaysians wake up today in shame for in the world release of Transparency International (TI) annual scorecard of Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in the early hours this morning, Malaysia has reached the lowest ranking in 23 years – No. 62 out of 180 countries.
The history of the 23-year annual Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 1995-2017 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, which had made significant improvements with steady strides.
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 improvement in the TI CPI score of 0.1 point each year the past 22 years, Malaysia’s present score would have been 7.58, or roughly translated into 75.8 out of a scale increased from 10 to 100, which would have placed Malaysia in the rank of No. 16 out of 180 countries.
Unfortunately, Malaysia’s 2017 TI CPI ranking and score had worsened, ranked No. 62 out of 180 countries with the TI CPI score plunging further down below the midpoint to 47/100 in the revised scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
In contrast, both China and Indonesia have continued to make significant improvements in the TI CPI in the past 23 years, with China improving its score from 2.16/10 in 1995 (under the original scale) to 41/100 (revised scale) with its TI CPI Ranking improving from No. 40/41 in 1995 to 77/180 in 2017 and while Indonesia upped its score from 1.94/10 (old scale) in 1995 to 37/100 (new scale), with TI CPI ranking from 41/41 in 1995 to 96/180.
If China continues to improve its TI CPI score at the annual average rate of 0.84 points (old scale) in the past 23 years, China would overtake Malaysia in both TI CPI ranking and score in eight years time (41 + 6.7 = 47.7) without Malaysia regressing further in TI score (which is a tall order under Najib’s global kleptocracy!).
In the past 23 years, Indonesia’s improvement on the TI CPI score is lower than China, making an average annual improvement of 0.76 (old scale). Without Malaysia further regressing, Indonesia will overtake Malaysia in both TI ranking and score in 14 years time, when it would have registered a score of 37 + 10.6 = 47.6.
Is this what Malaysia heading towards under Najib’s TN 2050 – overtaken by China in the 2025 TI CPI and overtaken by Indonesia in the 2031 TI CPI?
The TI CPI 2017 is Malaysia worst ranking in the 23-year TI CPI annual series and highlights a most shocking fact – that Najib’s nine-year premiership registered the lowest TI CPI ranking and the worst TI CPI score when compared to the two previous Prime Ministers, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.
This is illustrated by the following chart on TI CPI 1995-2017:
| Prime Minister | Best ranking | Best score | Worst ranking | Worst score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahathir | 23(1995) | 5.32/10 (1996) | 37 (2003) | 4.8/10 (2000) |
| Abdullah | 39(2004) | 5.1/10 (2005/7/8) | 47 (2008) | 5/10 (2004/6) |
| Najib | 50 (2014) | 52/100 (2014) | 62 (2017) | 4.3/10 (2011) |
Now, Malaysia is ridiculed world-wide as a global kleptocracy.
What is being done to improve Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking and score?
Nothing, with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) joining the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Cabinet in denying that the internationally-infamous 1MDB scandal exists, relegating it virtually to the status of “fake news”, and engaged in a national denial complex whether about “MO1” or Malaysia as a global kleptocracy.
I said at the DAP Penang Chinese New Year Open House last weekend that only a change of Federal Government in Putrajaya in the 14GE can Malaysia stop the tide of corruption in Malaysia, which other countries like South Africa under new President Cyril Ramaphosa is trying to do.
A Pakatan Harapan Government in Putrajaya will draft and implement a National Integrity Masterplan with civil society to ensure that Malaysia will be one of the leading nations in Asia for integrity, good governance and fight against corruption and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of a global kleptocracy.