PUTRAJAYA — Corruption is no longer a major issue in Malaysia, as shown by the nation’s improved ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), said Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir said there was now less corruption in Malaysia compared to the past, as acknowledged by the international body.

“The fact is corruption is not a very major issue anymore. Previously, of course, people talked about corruption but now there is less and this has been noted by those people.

“But there is still some corruption and we are working on eradicating it,” Dr Mahathir told a press conference on Wednesday (Jan 29), commenting on Malaysia’s improved CPI 2019 ranking.

Malaysia scored 53 points in 2019 to achieve a ranking of 51, as compared to its 47 points in the 2018 index when it was ranked 61 out of 180 countries surveyed.

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Dr Muhammad Mohan had said the new government’s resolve to tackle various scandals in public investment agencies had been seen as the main reason for the improvement.

He said among the reasons for Malaysia’s improved score was the swift action by the Pakatan Harapan administration in addressing the 1MDB, SRC International, Felda and Tabung Haji scandals when they came into power.

The CPI measures public sector corruption including bribery, diversion of public funds, use of public office for private gain, and nepotism in the civil service.

New Zealand and Denmark topped the ranking with the highest CPI with a score of 87. This was followed by Finland (86), while fourth place was shared by Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland with 85 points. NEW STRAITS TIMES