Despite the effort and promises by the government, little change has been seen on the level of corruption in the country. In fact, it is worsening and continues to go downhill.

When the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over the premiership in 2004, Malaysia’s CPI (Corruption Perception Index) rating stood at 5.0, a not very good indicator as the country was ranked 39th out of 146 countries surveyed.

The office’s immediate promise was then to curb corruption practice and bring those irresponsible players to justice.

In the latest 2008 CPI report, Malaysia’s corruption rating increases to 5.1, while the country’s ranking has dropped further down from 39th to 47th. In stark contrast, the neighboring country, Singapore recorded a 9.1 points, putting themselves in a respectable 4th out of a total of 180 countries.

With the index spiraling downwards, it is also a clear indication that Malaysia remains mediocre at best and is still far from poised to compete with other developed countries.

The President of Transparency International Malaysia, Ramon Navaratham, who concluded that the perception of corruption in the country is largely unchanged, has called for greater effort to improve the delivery system, especially in the government operation. According to him, a number of high profile corruption cases made public in the last few years has dampened the public confidence in the integrity of government institution.

The Corruption Perception Index, CPI measurement is done on annual basis and is measured on a scale between 0 to 10, with 10 the best.