Malaysia climbs up three places in Corruption Index

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has climbed up three places in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) table for 2014.

According to the index that was prepared by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI), Malaysia was ranked 50th out of 175 countries, while last year, it was ranked 53rd out of 177 countries.

Malaysia scored 52 points in the CPI score, two more points than they did last year.

The CPI scores and ranks are determined by the perceived level of corruption in the country's public sector.

According to TI-Malaysia president Datuk Akhbar Satar, no one could afford to tolerate corruption as it damaged the economic growth of the country.

"Every year, we lose 5% of our GDP to corruption," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Denmark took the top spot in this year's ranking with a score of 92, followed by New Zealand (91), Finland (89), Sweden (87), Norway (86), and Switzerland (86).

Countries with the highest perceived level of corruption are Somalia and North Korea who scored eight espectively as well as Sudan (11) and Afghanistan (12). 

Malaysia is ranked second among Asean countries, with Singapore ranked first and the Philippines ranked third.