Economy a positive amid the corruption issue: Federal Minister

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia is not a “failed state”, as its economy is still performing well despite being dogged by instances of corruption, asserted Federal Minister Paul Low yesterday, during a plenary session at the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC).

“I think for many of you who are in Putrajaya, I think you look at what we have around here, I don’t think there are symptoms of failed state,” said Mr Low, a minister in charge of governance and integrity.

“If we have a failed state, we will have chaos, people will not have food on the table, there will be high unemployment,” he said.

“But that doesn’t mean we don’t have corruption. Corruption is still an issue but we have managed our economy quite well.”

Prime Minister Najib Razak was listed as speaker of the keynote address at the IACC, which is hosted by Kuala Lumpur this year, but he declined to turn up.

Speaking to conference delegates, Mr Low revealed that Mr Najib was advised against showing up at the IACC this week due to “security” concerns and the expected “hostile” environment he would face. He said he had advised Mr Najib to consider current circumstances, some of which implicate him and the possibility of negative reactions at the conference.

“He was advised that if he comes, he might face fierce activists. I have to advise him. I said, ‘I can go, but if you want to, you can’,” Mr Low said. “But what I (see) here is that the crowd is quite civil.”

Mr Low was one of the two speakers at a session titled Country Experiences In Dealing With Governance And Corruption.

Earlier at the same conference, Transparency International, a non-governmental organisation that monitors corruption, said that Malaysia is facing a corruption crisis.

“We want to see more progress (from Malaysia) but that cannot happen while there are unanswered questions about the US$700 million (S$991 million) that made its way into the Prime Minister’s personal bank account,” Mr Jose Ugaz, president of Transparency International, said at the opening ceremony of IACC.

Mr Najib has been under fire for a donation of RM2.6 billion (S$873 million) from a Middle Eastern source into his personal accounts, as well as the scandal surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad, with its RM42 billion debt pile.

It was reported previously that Mr Najib had a prior commitment and would therefore not be attending the IACC.

This had prompted opposition Democratic Action Party Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang to say that Malaysia’s hosting of the global conference would be a “disgrace” if the Prime Minister himself did not attend. Mr Lim had also urged Mr Najib to use IACC as a platform to explain the allegations of corruption against him.

Last weekend, a mass anti-government rally drew tens of thousands of Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur and in cities across the country and the world, who gathered to press for Mr Najib’s resignation. AGENCIES