Why hasn’t PM spoken on drop in corruption index, asks Kit Siang

PETALING JAYA: DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang has questioned the prime minister’s silence over Malaysia dropping five spots in the global ranking in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index 2021 (CPI 2021).

He said it was the worst ranking for Malaysia in the CPI in the last 27 years.

Malaysia was placed 62nd out of 180 countries in terms of public sector corruption. In 2020, it was ranked 57th, and in 2019, it was at 51st place.

Lim, the Iskandar Puteri MP, said it had been two weeks since the release of the “devastating” CPI 2021, but Ismail Sabri Yaakob had not uttered a word.

“Is he not surprised and shocked by the TI CPI 2021?

“Does he expect the dismal situation of anti-corruption in Malaysia to improve next year under his premiership?” he asked in a statement today.

He asked what Ismail and the government would do to ensure that there was no further decline in the country’s ranking.

“Has his Cabinet had a discussion on the TI CPI 2021? What decisions were taken?”

It was reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had called for greater public cooperation to curb graft following the new listing.

TI-Malaysia (TI-M) president Muhammad Mohan had also described the score as “deeply worrying”. — Free Malaysia Today