The government needs to be more transparent in its processes and procurement despite the country’s improvement in ranking in the the recently announced Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2014, said the Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca).

Its secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj added that the government needs to build the rakyat’s confidence that taxpayer’s money are in good hands and used for better purposes.

“This is good but the government should continue to be more transparent.

“We need a more open and transparent government, with less leakages. So when people are asked to make sacrifices, they should be able to feel confident that the money collected to increase revenue for the government will translate into benefits, such as better public transport and healthcare.

“With the increasing cost of living, people are feeling the pinch. They need to see the money collected translated into better quality living," said Paul when contacted by Astro AWANI today.

Malaysia's position went up three places in the CPI 2014 to rank 50th out of the 175 countries surveyed. It was ranked 53rd last year.

The annual survey, undertaken by Transparency International, gauges the perceived level of corruption in the public sector.

Malaysia scored 52 out of 100 (0 being most corrupt and 100 as corruption free), placing it as second least corrupted country in the ASEAN region, behind Singapore at seventh place.

In announcing the index results on Wednesday, Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) lauded the government's effort in combating graft. A score of 52 is the highest recorded by Malaysia since 2004.

President of TI-M Datuk Akhbar Satar attributed improved ranking to the anti-graft body Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act (MACC), resulting in an increase in scoring since it was established in 2009.

However, it noted concerns about transparency on political financing, ownership control of companies, and public procurement.