M’sia lost an estimated S$83 billion due to corruption from 2018 to 2023

Malaysia has suffered RM277 billion (S$83 billion) in economic losses due to corruption between 2018 and 2023, according to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Harian Metro reported that MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki said the statistics were recorded based on GDP projections.

He also estimated an average loss of RM55 billion (S$17 billion) per year.

Azam said corruption has evolved to be “more cunning”, with recent investigations revealing a trend of corruption carried out through complicated accounting and auditing processes.

“The end result is large-scale leakage, the loss of investors and public confidence, and setbacks in national progress,” he added.

Ranked 57th on the Corruption Perception Index

As of 2024, Malaysia sits at the 57th place in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The CPI ranks 180 countries worldwide by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, giving each country a score of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Unchanged from the year before, Malaysia maintained a score of 50 in 2024.

According to The Malaysian Reserve, Malaysia’s CPI ranking has fluctuated over the last five years due to political shifts and inconsistent efforts to curb corruption.

Malaysia’s score has hovered around the 50 mark, though it achieved its best of 53 points in 2019 after institutional reforms that involved a corruption crackdown following the 2018 general election.

One of Malaysia’s most infamous corruption cases is the 2015 1Malaysia Development Berhad money laundering scandal.

According to the US Justice Department's probe, top Malaysian officials, including then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, embezzled over US$4.5 billion from a state investment fund.

In March this year, former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was named a key suspect in a corruption probe involving RM700 million (S$211 million) of government funds.

As of April, investigations are 15 to 20 per cent complete, as Ismail has to explain the sources of all the wealth he declared, according to The Star.

Anti-corruption efforts

CNBC reported that last May, the government launched a new anti-corruption strategy, which aims to propel Malaysia to the top 25 in the CPI within the next decade.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he is strongly committed to the corruption crackdown and has adopted a no-nonsense approach towards it.

As quoted by The Star, Anwar said that he would not impede any investigations against ministers.

"The principle is, please investigate, regardless of who that person is. If you ask, why are there no ministers? Give us the names, tell us the location of the house where the money is hidden, I will not block the investigation."

Top images via Joshua Sinaga/Google Maps & poklevin vin/Google Maps