Corruption Perception Index annual rankings: Singapore 6th, Malaysia 62nd

Singapore's best ranking since 2013 and Malaysia's worst-ever.

Sulaiman Daud | February 25, 2018, 03:58 AM

Just like airport standards and number of hours spent working, anti-corruption efforts is one of those things that Singapore tends to rank highly in international surveys.

On Feb. 21, Transparency International (TI) released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

Out of a total of 180 countries ranked in 2017, Singapore came in sixth.

A tale of two countries

The non-profit, non-governmental global organisation ranks countries on a scale of zero to 100, with zero being extremely corrupt and a perfect 100 is where nobody is corrupt.

According to the 2017 rankings, Singapore scored 84, moving up one rank to share the joint-sixth position with Sweden.

Best rank since 2013

Singapore remains one of the least corrupt countries in the world.

This is Singapore's best showing since 2013, when it placed joint-fifth with Norway.

Singapore's statement

Perhaps feeling encouraged, Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau Director Wong Hong Kuan said in a statement:

"With the strong mandate from the government, the CPIB will continue to fight corruption resolutely and safeguard the integrity of the Singapore public service."

Malaysia ranked 62nd

By contrast, Malaysia fell from joint-55th place in 2016 to joint-62nd place in 2017.

It shares the 62nd rank with the Caribbean nation of Cuba.

Malaysia's statement

Perhaps feeling discouraged, Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad expressed "shock" at the ranking.

In a statement, he said the ranking did not accurately reflect anti-corruption efforts made in the past year:

"There has been enforcement action taken almost every week and high-profile arrests throughout last year. We have taken aggressive efforts to combat corruption but it (the report) did not reflect all of our work. We should be in a better position compared to 2016."

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However, TI Malaysia's President Datuk Akhbar Satar said in a press conference that the drop was due to "high-profile" cases.

He said:

"The reason is simple ... the 1MDB and SRC International Sdn Bhd issues, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd scandal and also the conviction of PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli for whistleblowing."

Malaysia has achieved better rankings previously.

In 1995, when the first survey was published, it got a rank of 23 out of 41 countries surveyed.

Its current ranking is the lowest in the history of TI's surveys.

Public sector only

TI measures perceived levels of public sector corruption, as well as surveys covering expert assessments and views of business people.

So, if you're wondering if the recent Keppel corruption scandal affected the rankings, it was likely to not have been taken into account as TI only looks at the public sector.

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Top image adapted from Pixabay

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