KL is winning anti-graft fight, says Abdullah

The Straits Times, April 13, 2007


KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S prime minister has insisted that his government's fight against corruption is yielding unprecedented results despite negative public perception.

Malaysia's ranking in Transparency International's corruption index worsened to 44 last year from 37 in 2003. The government has also been embarrassed recently by graft allegations against top government officials, including the country's former anti-graft chief.

'Perception indicators would have us believe that the fight against corruption in Malaysia is stagnating,' Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said yesterday in a speech to inaugurate a training academy for anti-graft officers.

But, he noted, such perceptions arose because the government has turned the spotlight on corruption and unearthed more cases, leading people to believe the problem has spread.

He said the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) investigated 1,317 cases last year, about double the 663 cases in 2001. The number of arrests has also increased by 77 per cent to 564 last year from 318 in 2001, while the conviction rate rose to 74 per cent last year from below 50 per cent some years ago.

However, very few senior people have been arrested or prosecuted since he took office.

In one of the biggest scandals to hit the government, the head of the ACA was accused of corruption last month. Datuk Zulkifli Mat Noor has since left the agency and investigations are under way.

ASSOCIATED PRESS