Media Conference Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Wednesday, 18^th November 2009: 

Heads must roll – starting with the resignation of the MACC Chief Commissioner Ahmad Said – for Malaysia’s worst single-year plunge in TI CPI ranking and score in past 15 years

Heads must roll – starting with the resignation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan – for Malaysia’s worst single-year plunge in Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking and score since the introduction of TI’s annual CPI in the past 15 years.

Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking and score from 1995 to 2009, which ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt), are as follows:

In the nine years from 1995 to 2003, Tun Dr. Mahathir as Prime Minister saw Malaysia’s TI CPI score stuck in the narrow groove between 4.8 in 2000 to 5.32 in 1996 while the CPI ranking fell 14 places kept falling from No. 23 in 1995 to No. 37 in 2003.

In the five-year premiership of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia’s TI CPI ranking fell 10 places from 37 in 2003 to 47 placing in 2008, while CPI score stuck between 5.0 to 5.1.

In his seven months as Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak presided over the worst single-year plunge in TI CPI ranking and score, i.e. a nine-placing fall from No. 47 last year to No. 56, with the score plunging to the lowest ever of 4.5, when in the past 15 years, Malaysia had only twice fell below the score of 5, viz: 4.8 in 2000 and 4.9 in 2002.

The National Integrity Plan, launched in 2004 with the five-year target to improve Malaysia’s TI CPI from 37^th place in 2003 to at least 30^th position in 2008 and the 5.2 CPI score for Malaysia in 2003 to at least 6.5 by 2008 is an utter failure, and nobody in government now dares to even mention this five-year National Integrity Plan 2004-2008.

I have given notice to the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin to move a motion of urgent definite public importance tomorrow on Malaysia’s worst ranking and score in the TI CPI 2009 for the past 15 years.

My motion states:

“Malaysia plunged nine places from last year’s 47^th 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 the worse drop both in CPI ranking and score for Malaysia for any single year since the introduction of annual CPI by TI in 1995, when Malaysia was ranked No. 23 out of 41 countries, with a score of 5.28.

“This is a national shame, an indictment of the newly-formed Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and a major blow for the new premiership of YAB MP for Pekan who had declared that the fight against corruption was one of the six KPI priorities of his administration.

“The mysterious death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock on July 16 at MACC headquarters and the failure of MACC to prosecute and convict offenders in the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone and the Lingam Videotape scandals are major factors for Malaysia’s worst-ever TI CPI ranking and score.

“This is confirmed by the TI statement accompanying its CPI 2009 report on the perception of ‘little progress combating corruption and a lack of political will to implement effective anti-corruption measures’ as well as the MACC’s ‘focus on ‘small fish’ and opposition politicians.

“Parliament must urgently debate the TI CPI 2009 ranking and score for Malaysia to take urgent and remedial measures to check the country going down the road of a failed state in continuing to lose out in international competitiveness because of failure of institutional reforms particularly in the war against corruption and abuses of power.”

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