Is our 2020 CPI worse than last year?

The CPI is the leading global indicator of public sector corruption, offering a yearly snapshot of the relative degree of corruption by ranking countries from all over the globe.

Malaysia's ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2019 jumped 10 places up to rank 51, compared with 2018 where it ranked 61 out of 180 countries surveyed. It scored 53 points compared with 47 points in the 2018 index. There was a significant improvement both in ranking and score in 2019, which was also the country's best score over the last two decades.

A country's rank indicates its position relative to the other countries in the index. The smaller the ranking, the less corrupt a country is perceived to be. On the other hand, the country's score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Thus, countries with a higher score will rank much higher in position (as being less corrupt) compared with lower scoring countries.

The CPI is a poll of polls, a composite index that combines data and a range of surveys done by business people from around the world, including local experts and analysts working in the countries evaluated.

Malaysia is using nine out of 13 secondary sources to calculate 2020 CPI.

The data sources used to compile the index include questions relating to public sector corruption, or certain aspects of public sector corruption including: 1. Bribery 2. Diversion of public funds 3. Use of public office for private gain 4. Nepotism in the civil service 5. State capture 6. The government’s ability to enforce integrity mechanisms 7. The effective prosecution of corrupt officials 8. Red tape and excessive bureaucratic burden 9. The existence of adequate laws on financial disclosure, conflict of interest prevention and access to information 10. Legal protection for whistle-blowers, journalists and investigators

What the CPI does not measure and capture

Based on criteria included from their external sources, the following aspects are not captured in the CPI 1. Citizens’ perceptions or experience on corruption 2. Tax fraud 3. Illicit financial flows 4. Enablers of corruption (lawyers, accountants, financial advisors etc.) 5. Money Laundering 6. Any type of private sector corruption 7. Informal economic and markets

The top countries are New Zealand and Denmark, with scores of 87 each, followed by Finland (86), Singapore (85), Sweden (85) and Switzerland (85). New Zealand and Denmark have a longstanding reputation as countries with little corruption in the public including private sector.

Botswana is the least corrupt country in Africa with a score of 61 point and ranked 34 out of 100 countries. Sound ethical political leadership, transparency and accountability in government; merit-based and adequately paid civil service; independent, empowered and well-resourced anticorruption commission; and prudent natural resource management are among the strategies to fight corruption in Botswana.

Somalia ranked 180 with a score of nine on the 2019 CPI. South Sudan ranked 179 with a score of 12 points.

There is a high likelihood that the CPI 2020 rank for Malaysia will drop, but with no statistically significant changes in their score. This is due to political instability, a weak economy and lack of good governance.

The relationship between politics, money and corruption. Keeping big money out of politics is essential to ensuring political decision-making serves the public interest and curbing opportunities for corrupt deals.

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power. It is incumbent for the government and public to strengthen our corruption prevention measures to curb the scourge. Malaysians, particularly politicians and civil servants, must be more aggressive in assisting to curb corruption. CPI is based on the elite’s perceptions rather than objective data. Therefore, business elite’s perception are the key ingredients of CPI. However, the impact of MACC’s arrests directly affect the CPI positively if not the score could have been worse. It also creates a positive vibe that changes the public perception on corruption.

The CPI has increasingly become a highly-regarded and influential survey of good governance as well as a key marker in international efforts to fight corruption. Furthermore, studies show that there is a correlation between CPI standing and economic growth. CPI standing can influence the rate of foreign direct investment, as investors increasingly recognise the evils of corruption and stay away from countries that are perceived to be corrupt. Indeed, the CPI is a helpful and known tool to measure corruption. It is an indicator to inform the public at large whether corruption continues to plague the country However, the CPI's criteria are the best in the absence of an alternative, better tool. Capturing the perceptions of those in the elite position of the public sector is the most reliable method of comparing relative corruption levels across countries. Sometimes reality can be worse than perception. n the end, how a country responds to a poor CPI rating indicates whether a government is serious about dealing with such a social and political disease. The writing is on the wall for Malaysia — our slide indicates things are getting worse. Will the government address the issue?

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* Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar is President of Malaysia Association of Certified Fraud Examiners