by BERNAMA / pic by HUSSEIN SHAHARUDDIN

PAKATAN Harapan’s commitment on the anti-corruption agenda as one of its priorities has shown improvement.

National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption DG Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed (picture) said it could be seen via studies and international indices which showed improvements in Malaysia’s performance indicators.

“The government’s commitment today to put the anti-corruption agenda as one of its priorities is bearing fruits,” he said in his special address during the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum 2019, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The former chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said this could be seen in the Anti-Corruption Perception Study of MACC Series 13/2018 on the people’s perception regarding the government’s seriousness to fight corruption, increased 11% from 59.8% in 2016 to 70.8% last year.

“Based on international indicators, Malaysia has also noted improvements in several important studies or indices such as the Edelsmann Trust Barometer Global which shows the level of public confidence in the government has risen to 60% this year compared to 46% in 2018,” he said.

He added that the Corporate Governance Watch report showed Malaysia rose three ranks from the seventh place in 2016 to the fourth place in 2018 out of 12 Asia Pacific countries.

“The Democracy Index 2019 by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows Malaysia is currently ranked 52nd out of 165 countries, putting it 14 spots ahead of Singapore which is ranked 66th.

The forum themed “Embedding Integrity, the Cornerstone of Good Governance” was held by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity in collaboration with Aram Global Sdn Bhd.