Malaysian Parliament must act on Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020 released by Transparency International yesterday which reported that more Malaysians regard their MPs as corrupt as compared to the people of seven other Asian countries - Bangladesh, Taiwan, Myanmar, Philippines, China, Cambodia and Vietnam

The Malaysian Parliament must act on Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020 released by Transparency International yesterday which reported that more Malaysians regard their MPs as corrupt as compared to the people of seven other Asian countries – Bangladesh, Taiwan, Myanmar, Philippines, China, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Transparency International reported that 36% of Malaysians surveyed think that Members of Parliament are corrupt, as compared to 18% in Bangladesh, 17% in Taiwan, 14% in Myanmar, 12% in the Philippines, 11% in China, 6% for both Cambodia and Vietnam.

Nine other countries have scores where there is a higher percentage of people who think their Members of Parliament are corrupt, namely 39% for Thailand, 42% each for Japan and India, 43% for Nepal, 44% for Sri Lanka, 50% for Maldives, 51% for Indonesia, 56% for Mongolia and 65% for South Korea – but this should be no consolation for MPs in Malaysia.

Malaysian MPs should be ashamed that 36% of Malaysians surveyed in the Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020 regard them as corrupt.

As a Malaysian MP, I expect Parliament to act swiftly and promptly to establish the honour and integrity of Malaysian MPs.

A Select Committee on Corruption and Integrity should be set up by the Dewan Rakyat which should have the overall term of reference to raise public integrity in Malaysia to be among the top 30 countries in the world, but should have as its first task to look into the Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020 and the question of integrity of Malaysian Members of Parliament.

The Selection Committee on Corruption and Integrity should also look in other aspects of the Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020 – that 72% of Malaysians think government corruption is a big problem and that 39% of Malaysians believe that corruption is on the rise.

Based on the Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020, my worries that the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, which would be released in two months ago, would see a regression in both the TI CPI score and ranking would be justified, and that all the good work of the 22-month Pakatan Harapan government in its fight against corruption and to establish public integrity is being undone by the nine months of Perikatan Nasional government.

Do we see in the 2021 Budget a greater commitment to fight corruption and establish Malaysia as one of the top 30 countries in the world in public integrity before 2030?