KSN To Chair Corruption Perception Index Special Task Force

BANGI, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- The government has agreed to the establishment of a Special Task Force on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which will be chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.

Shamsul Azri said the team has, among other things, the role of analysing the findings of the CPI survey and proposing recommendations and strategies for institutional and legal reforms including the strengthening of check and balance mechanisms.

"On the CPI, we are all aware that through the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan (MTR 12MP), the government has set a target to reach the top 25 position in the CPI in 2033 as found in the MADANI Economy document.

"In line with that goal, the government has agreed to the establishment of a CPI Special Task Force which will be chaired by myself," he said when opening the 3rd National Level Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Research Conference 2024 here today.

It was previously reported that the team will closely monitor and take appropriate follow-up actions through initiatives under the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) 2024-2028.

Meanwhile, he said the way civil servants think and work needs to change to match the speed of global change and the rapid advancement of information technology as the speed of the digital technology era creates space and opportunities for those who are irresponsible in manipulating the weaknesses of work procedures and regulations.

"This is a challenge for us as civil servants to examine any improvements in laws, regulations and policies so that the public service system cannot be disrupted and threatened by those who are irresponsible," he said.

He also touched on the crisis of trust and confidence that is still happening in the public service, therefore he is inviting all members of the public machinery to join hands to ensure good governance based on accountability and efficiency is implemented.

Regarding the conference themed 'Facing the Threat of Corruption: Collective Eradication', he said the theme is very relevant and coincided with the government's commitment and seriousness in dealing with corruption and facing various socioeconomic challenges.

"It includes identifying governance weaknesses and the risk of corruption in the development and implementation of government policies and initiatives," he said.

In the meantime, he stressed that continuous efforts to combat corruption must continue to be implemented both at the school level through education, at the agency level through various initiatives and programmes, and at the national level through various policies and strategies.

Earlier, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki in his speech said this conference will focus on several sectors including agriculture, construction, wholesale and retail as well as banking and will examine the reality of governance weaknesses and corruption risks that exist in the sector .

"For example, the construction sector is very vulnerable to corruption. As much as US$ 5 trillion per year in leakage value is expected to be contributed by this sector by 2030 if no effective measures are taken to deal with corruption in the sector.

"If the risk of corruption in the construction sector is not dealt with seriously, there is no doubt that other sectors related to it such as the environment and the economy will be worse," he said.

Azam said efforts to prevent and fight corruption require joint efforts like a team and MACC's role as an agency responsible for preventing and investigating any form of corruption will be more challenging without the cooperation of others.

"If we only watch without acting, corruption will spread like a cancer, silently and dangerously, eroding the people's confidence in the government and causing social injustice to the point of sacrificing the country's future," said Azam.

-- BERNAMA