Malaysia is serious in its effort to combat corruption, especially in the civil service, and this can be seen through several measures that have been taken.

Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa said over the years, the civil service had instituted a variety of initiatives aimed at reforming the civil service towards higher standards of ethics, governance, transparency and accountability.

He said one of the initiatives was the establishment of the Malaysian Institute of Integrity in 2003 to implement the National Integrity Plan, which among others, was to enhance governance and ethics in both the public and private sectors.

He said besides that, under the Government Transformation Programme, fighting corruption was one of the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) which reflected Malaysia's seriousness and commitment in fighting corruption.

"There is also the introduction of the Town Hall Session with members of the media, held three times a year since 2014, to inform measures and actions taken by the Government on findings in the Auditor-General's Report and address questions by the media," said Ali in a statement here Friday.

He said Malaysia also introduced the Certified Integrity Officer programme in 2010, to nurture certified integrity officers and further promote integrity and ethics at the workplace, as envisaged under the National Integrity Plan.

"Another effort is the establishment of integrity units in all Government agencies at both the federal and state level in 2013. The unit forms a central and dedicated entity tasked with the responsibility of managing integrity in each agency.

"...and also the introduction of initiatives and reforms under the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business, a public and private sector collaborative effort established in 2007 to reduce bureaucratic procedures, streamline processes and enhance government delivery efficiency. From 24th position in 2008, Malaysia is now ranked 18th from (among) 189 economies," he said.

Meanwhile, Ali said the civil service viewed seriously and with concern, a statement made by Transparency International chairman Jose Ugaz at the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Putrajaya last Wednesday.

"The statement, among others, alleged that Malaysia is facing a corruption crisis. This indirectly, casts doubts on the integrity of the civil service," he said.

He said the Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 by Transparency International ranked Malaysia in 50th position in the world from among 175 countries while within ASEAN, Malaysia was ranked second after Singapore. In the Asia Pacific, Malaysia was ranked ninth after countries such as New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.

"This ranking by Transparency International is an acknowledgment of the many reforms undertaken by Malaysia to tackle corruption and enhance further governance and integrity," he said.

Ali said the policy and actions undertaken by Malaysia to manage and maintain integrity reflected its underlying commitment towards enhancing trust and confidence in the public service.

"The civil service is also committed to work continuously with the private sector to improve public sector efficiency, increase public confidence and enhance public service delivery," he said.