The "overwhelmed" perception of corruption does not reflect the
reality of Malaysia as its socio-economy has been growing steadily.
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) senior fellow,
Anis Yusal Yusoff said the country had performed well in receiving
investment from foreign and local entrepreneurs, generating good
economic growth and good human development rate.
He said despite
Malaysia's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score of 4.3 in the
Transparency International Report 2011, Malaysia's growth rates had been
consistently healthy over the past 12 years, averaging 4.8 percent year
on year growth.
"Our brief survey in this study shows that
Malaysia's investment rate, growth rate, as well as human development
rate are not going the way it should if Malaysia is truly as corrupt as
perceived," he said in his paper titled "Combating Corruption:
Understanding Anti-Corruption Initiatives in Malaysia".
The 72-page paper was delivered at the "Eradicating Corruption: How Successful Have We Been?" Forum which was closed by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy, here, on Monday.
Anis Yusal said Malaysia experienced a very quick recovery in 2010 with the second quarter growth reaching above 10 percent.
He said Malaysia also attracted high levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) at a sustained level.
"Investment rates are more strongly associated with perceived
corruption than other economic indicators and usually one would expect
that higher corruption would deter FDI."
He said the CPI score
indicated that a heightened attention could have triggered among members
of the public as well as their awareness of the negative impact of
corruption on society and the economy.
"In one sense, this trend
is positive. It is encouraging to see the public exercise more
oversight on this important issue and for them to make the government
more accountable," he said.
He added that there was possibility
that the increased public perception on corruption was caused by
concerted campaigns by politicians to accuse the other party as more
corrupt than they really were. - Bernama
Source : The Star
