Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 17^th November 2009: 

Major blow for Najib premiership – Malaysia’s worst ranking and score in 15 years in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2009

I asked in Parliament yesterday whether Malaysia is heading for the worst Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking and score in 15 years when TI CPI 2009 is announced in the next few days.

I had expected poor results for Malaysia both in CPI ranking and score, with Malaysia slipping further in ranking from No. 47 to may be No. 50 and to fall to the lowest CPI score ever of 4.8.

But my worst fears had been exceeded when the Berlin-based TI just announced that Malaysia had plunged nine places from last year’s 47th CPI ranking to 56^th position while Malaysia CPI index score plunged to the lowest in 15 years to 4.5 when Malaysia’s previous worst scores below 5 were 4.8 in 2000 and 4.9 in 2002.

This is a national shame and major blow for Najib’s premiership

I have no doubt that the mysterious death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock on July 16, who went to the 14^th floor MACC headquarters as a healthy, vigorous, idealistic young man to give his co-operation as a witness but ended up as a corpse on the 5^th floor of the building and the the MACC role as Umno catspaw to declare war on Pakatan Rakyat instead of declaring war on corruption were major factors for Malaysia’s worst-ever TI CPI ranking and score.

Will there be any response from Najib to the shocking TI CPI 2009 ranking and score?

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor