Transparency International warns Malaysia’s corruption fight risks plateauing without deeper institutional reforms to insulate agencies from political influence.
PETALING JAYA: Recent controversies surrounding the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) have thrown the country’s anti-graft fight into the spotlight, raising urgent questions about institutional independence and the unfinished nature of reforms, according to Transparency International Malaysia president Raymon Ram.
“Recent events do not necessarily indicate regression but they reinforce the fact that reforms remain incomplete.
“Without structural insulation of enforcement and prosecution from executive influence, improvements may plateau rather than accelerate,” said Raymon.
Malaysia’s performance in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) paints a cautiously optimistic picture.
The country scored 52 out of 100 in the CPI, ranking 54th out of 182 nations, a modest two-point increase from 2024. Over the past five years, scores have risen gradually from 48 in 2021 to 52 in 2025.
While this reflects stabilisation rather than a structural breakthrough, it comes amid a declining global average CPI, which fell to 42, the first drop in more than a decade.
“The CPI measures perceptions of public sector corruption. It reflects whether institutions, particularly enforcement and the justice chain, are seen as independent, consistent and insulated from political interference.
“It does not measure arrests or headlines but institutional credibility,” said Ram.
He credited Malaysia’s incremental CPI gains to several reforms introduced in recent years, adding that these include the Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act 2023, amendments to the Audit Act and Companies Act in 2024 to enhance oversight and beneficial ownership transparency, the Parliamentary Service Act 2025 in restoring legislative autonomy, the Government Procurement Bill and ongoing efforts to separate the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor.
He added that leadership-level controversies continue to influence perception.
“Allegations involving MACC leadership have prompted the establishment of a special committee chaired by the attorney-general but that credibility depends on independent, time-bound and transparent verification rather than internal assurances alone.
“Leadership-level probes affect perception significantly, not because allegations alone determine outcomes but because the transparency and independence of the accountability process determine institutional legitimacy.”
Ram said MACC’s appointment framework, currently under the prime minister’s advice, creates a perception of vulnerability, particularly in politically sensitive cases.
He identified structural reforms still needed to protect anti-corruption efforts from individual personalities.
According to him, these include full separation of the attorney-general and public prosecutor roles, strengthening of MACC’s appointment and oversight mechanisms with parliamentary confirmation and fixed non-renewable terms, comprehensive political financing laws, robust whistleblower protections aligned with the United Nations Convention against Corruption standards, enforceable procurement safeguards with open contracting and integrity pacts as well as a federal freedom of information regime balancing transparency with national security.
On concrete steps the government could take, Ram said anti-corruption institutions must be shielded from political influence while remaining accountable to Parliament.
“Effective models combine operational independence, secure tenure, transparent appointment and removal processes as well as clear parliamentary oversight.”
He added that preventing and detecting graft are shared responsibilities but primary accountability rests with the state.
“The government’s executive branch is responsible for running enforcement agencies and overseeing procurement while the prosecution service and judiciary must operate independently.
“Parliament must provide oversight, and civil society as well as the media should remain free to hold authorities accountable.
“Malaysia is stabilising under reform pressure.
“It is not yet a decisive institutional leap forward but the foundation is there, provided reforms are completed and insulated from political influence.”
The Sun Malaysia
