PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad has clarified that he did not propose for the graft busters to conduct its own corruption index.
Making it clear that what he proposed had been misreported, Dzulkifli said MACC had actually proposed for the government to conduct the nation's corruption index.
He said this could be done through an independent body, including either a university or non-governmental organisation instead of MACC itself.
The suggestion, he said, had also been discussed and agreed in the MACC Advisory Board recently.
Dzulkifli said this was what he had also mentioned in the press conference earlier this month and asked the media to check their recording.
"There were several media which had cited me wrongly. It is not MACC which wants to create a corruption index. It is about time that Malaysia has its own CPI," he added.
Dzulkifli was previously quoted as saying that MACC would create a more effective special corruption index to analyse the corruption level in the country and that it would be submitted to the cabinet in about three months.
This led critics to claim that such a move would be akin to a student marking his or her own exam paper.
The proposal came in the wake of Malaysia being ranked 62 among 180 countries, down seven places since 2016 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2017.
In 2016, Malaysia ranked 55 among 176 countries, with a score of 49 out of 100, while in 2015, Malaysia ranked 54 out of 168 countries, with a score of 50.
However, Dzulkifli said MACC's work should not be judged by the CPI alone but through its graft prevention, enforcement and education efforts and activities.
He said throughout last year, MACC had been going all out to fight corruption in the country despite limited manpower and resources.
"I ask the people to look at the reality and not merely the perception. The CPI by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) is based on the views of expatriates and not the perception of Malaysians.
“The index doesn't wholly reflect all our efforts. To me, the commission has done its best although we lacked budget and officers.
"Therefore, I urge the people not judge us by the perception of foreign expatriates, but to continue supporting us and all our efforts battling graft in the country.”