KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — We may have voted them into office but the truth of the matter is, we don't think very highly of our politicians.
Malaysians believe that politicians are the most corrupt group, according to a global survey by anti-graft body Transparency International (TI).
In the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), 42 per cent of Malaysians said that political parties are the most corrupt institution, followed closely by the civil service at 37 per cent.
.In the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), 42 per cent of Malaysians said that political parties are the most corrupt institution, followed closely by the civil service at 37 per cent.
They are also not optimistic that graft will be curbed as two-thirds of Malaysians have no faith in the government's efforts to fight corruption.
TI Malaysia president Datuk Paul Low( photo) said that this was due to the fact that the public had no idea how political parties were funded.
"Corruption in politics is the mother of all corruption. Nobody knows how they are funded. They need to eliminate money politics as well as disclose their sources of funding," he said, adding that changes in electoral laws as well as compulsory audits would be needed to reverse public perception.
However, he felt that the results may not be accurate as the survey was conducted three months ago, amid speculation of monetary inducement that resulted in the Perak political crisis as well as vote-buying in the Umno party polls.
Low also called for better accessibility to information regarding government contracts and concession agreements as well as reviewing the Official Secrets Act as "these are not strategic interests" which could compromise national security. Malaysia regularly scores close to five out of 10 on TI's Corruption Perception Index and last November's results left it ranked 47th out of 180 countries.
Courtesy: The Malaysian Insider
TI Malaysia president Datuk Paul Low( photo) said that this was due to the fact that the public had no idea how political parties were funded.
"Corruption in politics is the mother of all corruption. Nobody knows how they are funded. They need to eliminate money politics as well as disclose their sources of funding," he said, adding that changes in electoral laws as well as compulsory audits would be needed to reverse public perception.
However, he felt that the results may not be accurate as the survey was conducted three months ago, amid speculation of monetary inducement that resulted in the Perak political crisis as well as vote-buying in the Umno party polls.
Low also called for better accessibility to information regarding government contracts and concession agreements as well as reviewing the Official Secrets Act as "these are not strategic interests" which could compromise national security. Malaysia regularly scores close to five out of 10 on TI's Corruption Perception Index and last November's results left it ranked 47th out of 180 countries.
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