Almost 3,000 M'sian govt employees caught taking bribes in past 10 years

Lawmakers heard that nearly 3,000 Malaysian government employees were caught taking bribes in the past 10 years, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

Breakdown of those caught

Malaysian law minister Azalina Othman Said noted in a written reply to parliament on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission data that 6,585 cases of soliciting and giving bribes were recorded between 2015 and Jun. 30, 2025.

Meanwhile, around 4,000 employees were caught taking bribes in total.

2,965 of those caught were public servants, while 1,101 were private sector employees, reported SCMP.

Malays accounted for 75 per cent, or 3,690, of bribe-soliciting cases, followed by Chinese and then Indians.

However, those most likely to pay bribes were ethnically Chinese.

Reward for whistleblowing

Previously, Deputy House Speaker Ramli Mohd Nor suggested rewarding whistle-blowers who expose abuses within government ranks with cash incentives.

These abuses could include “counter setting", a corrupt practice where immigration counters are manipulated to facilitate the illegal entry or exit of individuals.

Ramli proposed giving a reward of RM1,000 or RM2,000 (S$400 or S$600), adding that this is a practice that is also carried out during criminal investigations, New Straits Times reported.

Anwar responded that he would "consider it".

Corruption

The latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks Malaysia 57th out of 180 countries.

The CPI ranks countries and territories worldwide by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

Singapore ranks third in this list, meaning the country is "very clean".

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