KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has demonstrated significant progress in combating corruption, reflected by an improvement in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
According to the Economic Outlook 2025 report released by the Finance Ministry on Friday (Oct 18), Malaysia ranked 57th in 2023 out of 180 countries, compared to 61st in 2022.
Towards achieving Malaysia’s goal of being among the top 25 nations in the CPI ranking, the government has launched the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) 2024-2028, continuing from the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023.
"The NACS provides a detailed framework and trajectory to combat corruption, aiming to strengthen integrity and accountability in the country.
"This effort also indicates the government’s commitment to tackle the detrimental impact of corruption, with the ultimate goal of promoting fairness and transparency in governance,” the report stated.
In other developments, Malaysia ranked 63rd out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2023/2024, with a score of 0.807.
According to the report, Malaysia’s achievement was categorised under ‘Very High Human Development’ (HDI of 0.800 and above), typically exhibiting high standards in life expectancy, education and income.
"Even though Malaysia is within the same category as top-ranked nations such as Germany, Singapore, Australia, Republic of Korea and Japan, these countries scored higher than 0.920 and generally have advanced healthcare systems, high quality of life and high-income economies.
"Hence, these countries serve as benchmarks for Malaysia in an effort to improve human development indicators, eventually reaching the top 25 of the HDI,” it said.
The HDI assesses and compares countries’ overall development and well-being, providing a rounded view of human development. This incorporates key dimensions such as a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and having decent standards of living.
Under the framework to boost the female labour force participation rate to 60% by 2033, the report noted that it stood at 56.2% last year.
The lower participation rate is due to several factors such as limited access to childcare, unattractive wages and insufficient support for work-life balance.
"To bridge this gap, comprehensive measures need to be further strengthened, including expanding affordable and high-quality childcare services, instituting flexible work arrangements and enforcing policies that promote better wages.
"Additionally, initiatives to enhance women’s access to professional development opportunities remain essential,” the report stated. - Bernama
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