KUALA LUMPUR – An overwhelming majority of Malaysian adults of various backgrounds believe reforms to the local political funding system are needed amid the nation’s struggle with the corruption scourge, a University of Malaya (UM) study found.
According to the study, 95.56% of Malaysians polled agreed that political funding reforms should be on the cards.
The report of the study, titled Voices From The Ground: The Corruption Complex in Malaysia, was conducted by UM’s International Institute of Public Policy and Management (Inpuma).
It found that the categories of respondents who showed the highest support stood among those aged 51 and above, as well as state and federal government officials.
Based on racial profiles, 96.26% of Malays polled agreed to the proposition of funding reforms. 93.33% of Chinese respondents agreed, while 90% from the Indian community agreed.
Across all employment sectors, 95.56% agreed with the notion of the reforms.
The survey found that 100% of both state and federal government officers supported the view, while 94.44% of the respondents who favoured the idea came from the education industry.
Among those from other sectors, 93.75% supported seeing changes to political funding.
Moreover, those aged between 51 and 60, as well as those who are 60 and above, showed 100% support, followed by the 41-50 bracket (95.92%), and the 31-40 group (89.66%).
The youngest group, aged between 18 and 30, showed 95% support.
Helmed by Inpuma executive director Prof Shakila Yacob, the survey involved a total of 1,113 respondents who took part in six policy talks.
Its findings on political funding reforms came from the third policy talk, titled Corruption Risk: Political Financing and Accountability.
The report observed the lack of legislation to regulate political financing, saying the existing Election Offences Act 1954 only governs offences during the campaign period and has limited reach, as the Election Commission lacks authority.
Massive sums of money from a variety of sources are available to be spent ahead of elections despite spending caps.
“(The) Societies Act 1960 requires political parties to file an audited financial account without the need to disclose the financial contributors. Political elites and bureaucrats are able to raise funds using corrupt means.”
It also said that the authorities responsible for overseeing the matter are unclear, and that there is a need to address the question of maximum spending allowed for state and federal elections.
Urgent need to dispense Covid-19 stimulus measures exploited through govt contracts
Apart from 900 members of the public, the survey respondents also included representatives from 12 ministries, 27 government agencies, public and private universities, the media, as well as government-linked companies, among others.
Most of the participants came from the education sector (43.5%), while those from the state and federal government organisations comprised 26.7%.
“The policy talks were conducted at the time when the Covid-19 pandemic had severely impacted the Malaysian economy and society, in addition to the political changes that were also taking place,” the report read.
“Many stimulus packages had been introduced as temporary and urgent measures to address the problems faced by the country.
The urgency for the measures to be carried out quickly and on a large scale opened it up to misuse of power and position in new appointments and awarding of government contracts.”
The policy talks were also held in partnership with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), media group Kumpulan Karangkraf and anti-graft non-government organisation Rasuah Busters as well as Sinar Harian as the media partner.
Other partners include the World Bank, Sunway Education Group, and Indonesia’s Institut Pemerintahan Dalam Negeri.
In the second policy talk on Youth and Corruption, 51% of respondents accepted corruption as a culture, but only 37.5% of those aged between 41 and 50 agreed with this notion.
A total of 57.8% of the participants also supported the idea that religious beliefs were linked to corruption. However, only 47% of youth agreed with the statement.
The report also found that around 82% of respondents agreed that giving gifts to officials amounted to corruption.
MACC needs greater autonomy in pursuing corruption beyond investigations
Exploring factors behind corruption in Malaysia, the report found that one of its root causes is “a system of kleptocracy”.
“Corruption has become a part of the culture, and corruption is affecting the system of meritocracy.
Politics is seen as the path to wealth and corruption as a path to success. The government system is dysfunctional, hence open to corruption. However, the effort to combat corruption does not only lie with the government but should be a joint effort with the people.”
In its recommendations, the report said the MACC needed greater autonomy to be allowed to prosecute corruption cases instead of merely investigating them.
It said legal reforms were also “urgently” needed to ensure the necessary laws are in place, adding that clarity and clear rationale was needed in decision-making, especially in relation to procurement and enforcement.
The report added that press freedom is essential in exposing corruption and continuously raising awareness of its negative impact, while education is an important tool to inculcate positive values and reinforce the message against corruption.
“Religious channels are proposed as effective channels to instil integrity and ethical behaviour that is central to all major faiths in Malaysia.
“Civic engagement and collective action are important to ensure that the monitoring and exposure of corruption do not stop.” – The Vibes, January 10, 2022
