KUALA LUMPUR: Efforts to wipe out corruption should not take a back seat despite the country's improved ranking on the global perception index, said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali.
In his speech at the 10th Certified Integrity Officers (CeIO) Convocation here today, Zuki said Malaysia's position on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) required further improvement.
He reminded all that leakage of public funds, power abuse and other forms of corruption had yet to be fully eradicated.
"Our ranking on the CPI 2023 shows that the country is improving in terms of its legal system and judicial legislation.
"This is due to the success of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Attorney-General's Chambers with regard to investigations into high-profile cases, supported by the commitment and professionalism of the civil service.
"Having said that, we should not be satisfied since there are still matters that we need to work on to boost the country's ranking on the CPI," Zuki said.
Present were MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, deputy chief commissioner (management and professionalism) Datuk Junipah Wandi and Malaysia Anti-Corruption Academy director Datuk Idris Zaharudin.
A total of 481 participants from ministries, departments and statutory bodies as well as government-linked companies and the private sector received their scrolls at the ceremony.
"As mentioned by the prime minister on several occasions, he is happy about the contributions of our enforcement bodies and agencies, especially the MACC, police and Attorney-General's Chambers," Zuki said.
"Nevertheless, he wants us to keep striving for improvement despite our recent ranking on the CPI.
"This includes expediting the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which replaces the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023."
He also stressed the importance of strengthening integrity and enhancing anti-corruption initiatives in the private sector.
"This should not be taken lightly and must be included as the main agenda in our corruption eradication efforts."
It was announced last month that Malaysia had improved its global CPI ranking in 2023 by scoring 50 points, up from 47 points the previous year.
The increase helped Malaysia climb to 57th position from the 61st in 2022.