PM Says Malaysia’s Low Score on Corruption Index is Due to Human Rights Issues & Not Corruption

Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob appeared to be having a tough stance against corruption. Speaking in parliament, he assured that the government does not and will not protect anyone involved in the practice.

However, despite his statement, netizens are now accusing him of not taking the country’s corruption issues seriously after he stated that Malaysia’s declining score in the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index was due to human rights issues and not corruption.

The index which is created by Transparency International (TI), reported that Malaysia’s index score deteriorated to 48 points in 2021 and is now ranked 62nd among 180 countries surveyed.

In his parliamentary address, the prime minister said that Malaysia has different values or ideals than the rest of the world.

“Actually in terms of our declining score, our position isn’t because of corruption cases but it’s also contributed by other things such as human rights for example.”

“Maybe the views of international organisations are different from our country’s own values. But they perceive human rights based on their own values,” he added.

He explained that in terms of the need to revamp our institutions and amend laws, such as the Political Funding Act, these have been demands from international organisations for us to apply in our nation.

“Things like the Official Secrets Act, the Election Offences Act and others. There are nine things in total that are used as excuses to score us,” he explained.

He went on to say that the government was serious in addressing corruption in the country.

Netizens slam him for his comments

His comments did not go down well with Malaysians who criticised the prime minister for his statements.

One netizen pointed out that what he said is not even true as the Corruption Perception Index does not consider human rights in their calculations.

Another user pointed out that human rights are another index altogether. “And guess where we are in that one? Number 100 of 165 nations,” added the user.

Meanwhile a user said that according to the people who made the index, Malaysia faces grand corruption which is the highest level of corruption and has the potential of destroying the country.

“This is the abuse of high level power that benefits the few at the expense of the many, and which can destroy whole sectors, create recessions and end democracies,” said the report.

“In such cases, mere technical interventions, useful in addressing petty corruption, are not enough. Addressing grand corruption requires systematic dismantling of rent-seeking structures and dishonest cultures that public officials use to pocket public funds.”

What do you think of what the PM said? Let us know in the comments.

Also read: PM Assures That Politicians From Govt or Opposition Involved in Corruption Will Face Justice