Life graft

The latest Corruption Perceptions Index has just been released by Transparency International and its findings in Southeast Asia have a wearily familiar ring

By Lauren Vardy
Of the nine Southeast Asian countries listed in the 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the majority lag behind in their efforts to fight corruption in the public sector, with seven scoring less than 40 out of 100 (on a scale where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 very clean).

The CPI measures corruption in the public sector, which is accountable to the government. Transparency International (TI), which released the report globally today, said the persistent low scores highlights the failings of the region’s leadership, which has full control of the conduct of its public services.
At the TI Cambodia launch in Phnom Penh, executive director Preap Kol said corruption in Cambodia remains rampant, despite its ranking climbing from 20 in 2013 to 21 this year.
Kol expressed hope that Cambodia would work more vigorously to combat the menace. “The country is headed in the right direction,” he said. “However efforts to stamp out corruption need to be sustained. The improvement might be incremental but shows Cambodia is slowly headed towards a more transparent and accountable future.”
Cambodia now ranks 156th out of 177 countries with a score of 21 out of 100 for transparency in the CPI. In 2013, Cambodia ranked 160 but improved this year to sit at 156. Kol said this puts the country on a level with Myanmar and Zimbabwe.
The poor scores of other emerging markets in the region – such as Malaysia (52), Philippines and Thailand (both 38) and Indonesia (34) – indicate a general weak or ineffective leadership to counter corruption, posing threats for both sustainability of their economies and somewhat fragile democracies.
Srirak Plipat, regional director for the Asia Pacific department at TI said the CPI was designed to send a message to countries at the crossroads. “It sends a loud statement that leaders must create societies that are more systematically resistant to corruption,” he said. “This means taking a more inclusive approach to fighting corruption.”
TI, which published the list, said the CPI “ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.” The index collates expert views on the problem from bodies such as the Economist Intelligence Unit, World Bank, Global Insight, the Bertelsmann Foundation, and other groups.
The full results can be viewed here
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