KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has recorded an improvement in its global corruption perception ranking for 2025, moving up three places to 54th from 57th in 2024, which reflected continued progress in governance and anti-corruption efforts.
According to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025 released by Transparency International (TI) on Tuesday (Feb 10), Malaysia ranked third among Asean countries, behind Singapore and Brunei, maintaining its relative position within South-East Asia while outperforming several regional peers.
The country's CPI score increased by two points to 52, up from 50 in the 2024 assessment, indicating a modest but encouraging upward trend.
TI, the global anti-corruption coalition, highlighted that the CPI 2025 assessed perceived levels of public sector corruption in 182 countries and territories based on up to 13 surveys and expert assessments, with scores ranging from zero, indicating highly corrupt, to 100, indicating very clean.
It said Denmark, Finland and Singapore led the index, reflecting consistently strong governance and institutional integrity, while South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela remained among the weakest performers, underscoring the close relationship between corruption, conflict and weak institutions.
In a statement, TI Malaysia said the country's improved ranking signalled that ongoing anti-corruption efforts, enforcement actions and governance commitments were being recognised internationally, but stressed that the progress must be viewed as a step forward rather than a turning point.
"The challenge now is to sustain and accelerate reforms year on year if Malaysia is to achieve the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's stated goal of becoming a top 25-ranked country in the CPI by 2033," it said.
Among factors contributing to the improved score were the introduction of the Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act 2023; amendments to the Audit Act 1957 to expand the Auditor-General's oversight of government-linked companies (GLC) and government-linked investment companies (GLIC); the introduction of Beneficial Ownership transparency through the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024; sustained enforcement actions against senior public officials and political elites; and new legislation such as the Government Procurement Bill and amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2025.
It added that since the Madani government took office, several governance commitments had been introduced including the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) 2024-2028; the CPI Task Force chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government and institutional reforms such as the drafting of a Freedom of Information Act, the formation of Ombudsman Malaysia, reforms to whistleblower protection and plans to separate the roles of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor.
"While these developments are welcome, TI Malaysia stresses that significant shortcomings remain, particularly in the pace and depth of institutional and legislative reforms," it said.
TI Malaysia also highlighted that key concerns included corruption risks in public procurement, limitations in whistleblower protection, the absence of comprehensive political financing regulations and potential weaknesses in the proposed Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) framework.
It also expressed concern over limited public disclosure for major infrastructure and mega projects, as well as the need for greater transparency in defence procurement.
It also cautioned that progress towards achieving a top 25 ranking by 2033 remained slow and stressed that reform commitments must be matched by sustained and credible action; early CPI improvements should be viewed as signals of progress, not systemic change; and without effective implementation, policy commitments would lose credibility over time.
TI Malaysia said that the improvement in Malaysia's CPI score should be seen as a signal of potential rather than a cause for complacency, noting that the current political stability provided an opportunity for meaningful reform.
"TI Malaysia urges the government to act decisively and systematically, as public expectations are high and the cost of inaction will be reflected in both future CPI scores and public trust," it said.
TI Malaysia also reaffirmed its commitment to engage constructively with stakeholders to ensure that this momentum was not lost and that the fight against corruption delivered real and lasting change for the rakyat. – Bernama
