Media Statement by Charles Santiago in Parliament on Thursday, 19^th November 2009:

Free media, open tender and MACC reforms

All that is best about the Malaysian government could be summed up in one word – corruption.

But the wide spread of graft has often gridlocked the country's administration and now, earned Malaysia the 56th position in Transparency International's corruption perception index (CPI) for 2009.

Meanwhile the CPI score plunged to 4.5 from 5.1 last year. This is the country's worst ranking and score in 15 years.

Transparency International Malaysia President Paul Low said this embarrassing ranking "may be attributed to the perception of little progress in combating corruption, and lack of political will in implementing effective anti-corruption measures".

According to Low examples giving rise to the concern were the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco and the auditor-general's annual report highlighting extraordinary public procurement abuses.

The country has been fraught with rampant corruption and this is evident in the RM1.3 billion Ipoh-Rawang double tracking rail project, abuse of power by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) and their disturbingly cosy relationship with the ruling elite.

The Berlin-based corruption watchdog has also candidly said that the MACC appears to focus on "small fish" and opposition politicians.

Clearly Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's rallying cry calling for an end to corruption is mere rhetoric, stage-managed to hoodwink the people and regain their confidence.

Najib's sloganeering has failed to translate into action and the country continues to be hamstrung by UMNO and Barisan Nasional's lack of political will to weed out graft and corrupt practices from its very core.

If the government was sincere, those responsible for Teoh Beng Hock's death would have been charged. If Najib is committed to wiping out graft, VK Lingam would not be walking free today.

The list does not end here.

We need to reform the police force, clean-up the judiciary and bring those responsible for embezzlement of funds relating to the PKFZ and double rail road project to book. And we need to do this now.

Could we trust Najib's government to do so? The cynical answer is a resounding no. Malaysia has been continuously slipping in the Transparency International index since its best ever ranking in 2002.

During the tenure of former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2003, Malaysia was ranked 37. This slid to 39 in 2005 and 43 in 2007. Last year the country ranked 48.

This only goes to show that corruption has become institutionalised in the country and is often touted as the way to do business here. Given the government's cocktail of fierce rhetoric, lack of willpower to institute ground change, disregard for accountability and blatant abuse of power, we cannot sit back and hope that the government implements durable measures to clean-up graft.

A recent Merdeka Centre poll on corruption showed that 81 per cent of about 1,241 respondents viewed corruption as a serious problem in the country. And about 72 per cent of the respondents felt that reporting on corruption was good for the development of the country.

This suggests that there is a popular perception that the media needs to play a greater and bolder role in exposing, and combating corruption. In fact, the media should embrace investigative reporting and be part of a larger strategy in creating awareness on threats corruption in the country.

This would require that the government free the media from its control.

Malaysia as a nation is at a cross-road. Its economy is in negative territory. Thus every effort must be made to regain confidence among local and foreign investors including citizens of the country.

Therefore, I urge the Prime Minister to urgently implement the very aims of his NKRA on corruption. This would require fundamental changes to MACC. Specifically, new policies, procedures and enforcement strategies need to be put in place in the fight against corruption.

Also, a change in the top brass of the graft agency would be most welcomed.

Most importantly, Najib needs to announce as a matter of priority that open tender process would be the basis to bid for government projects (except in sensitive areas) as a way to combat corruption and win back national and international confidence.

* Charles Santiago, Selangor DAP Vice Chairman & MP for Klang