KUALA LUMPUR:The government has never and will not compromise with any perpetrator of corruption and stern action will be taken according to the principle of rule of law.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stressed that although the country's position dropped in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2020, the government's policy and commitment in fighting corruption and improving governance is clear and continuous.

"As what has been informed in the early stages of the administration of the Perikatan Nasional government, the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) is still being pursued to enhance government governance as well as reduce and close opportunities for corruption in government administration.

"The government through the Cabinet Special Committee on Anti-Corruption (JKKMAR) also always looks at methods in improving governance in public administration," it said in a statement here, on Friday.

Meanwhile, the statement also informed that the Prime Minister's Office took cognisance of the Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) statement issued on Thursday where Malaysia recorded a score of 51 out of 100 compared to a score of 53 in 2019, based on the level of corruption perceptions in the country's public sector.

TI-M revealed that among the possible reasons for the drop is that money politics is still rampant in the country and the public does not get the latest information on the status of high-profile cases such as human trafficking in Wang Kelian, the 'Air Sabah' scandal and the purchase of littoral combat ships (LCS) which is still hanging and no news on it.

In addition, TI-M said, the situation of ‘discharged not amounting to an acquittal’ of some of those accused in high-profile cases, have given a negative perception of how the judicial process is applied.