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It was disheartening to see Malaysia hold its 57th ranking for a second year in the recent Corruption Perception Index poll for 2024. This halts the nation's ambitions to achieve the coveted 27th position by 2028 as found in the 2024 National Anti Corruption Strategy published by Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia.
Not to take away the government's efforts, there have been some steps taken to achieve this goal. It has begun drafting the Freedom of Information Act as of April this year according to Malaysiakini. This act will allow the public legal access to a variety of government information once deemed inaccessible to the citizens as explained by New Straits Times. This is an incredible win for Malaysia and its battle for transparency as it allows the citizens to be able to carry out their duty to hold the government accountable for their actions they might do behind closed doors.
However, as admirable as the initiative is, one of the biggest reasons why the ranking has stayed the same, is the speed at which these reforms are being implemented. It feels as if the goal post of reforms being implemented are constantly shifting. Best example of this is the Freedom of Information Act, which has been promised to be tabled on two separate occasions. The first time was in 2024 where it was announced to be tabled at the end of that year according to Malay Mail to no avail. It has been announced again to be tabled by mid - 2025 according to The Star.
This slowness to amend & introduce reforms is the largest blockade to Malaysia achieving its targets which is just a few short years away at this point. If the government is really serious about achieving its top 27 ranking by 2028, it needs to take far bigger steps in ensuring the new laws are put in place on time.
Chan Kenn Jin is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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