A decade of corruption studies in Malaysia
| Pages | 423-436 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-07-2019-0099 |
| Published date | 03 February 2020 |
| Date | 03 February 2020 |
| Author | Nurisyal Muhamad,Norhaninah A. Gani |
| Subject Matter | Financial crime,Accounting & Finance |
A decade of corruption studies
in Malaysia
Nurisyal Muhamad
Faculty of Business, Accounting and Social Sciences,
Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and
Norhaninah A. Gani
Department of Business, Accounting and, Social Science,
Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose –In December 2013, the World Bank had declared that, in the developing world, corruption is
the No.1 public enemy. True, Malaysia has been swayed by the endless corruption scandals from the
upper classes to the subordinates, in public as well as private sectors. As a country that is moving
towards being a developed country in 2025, the Malaysian Government has been working hard to
overcome corruption through various plans and initiatives. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to
highlight on Malaysia’s current initiatives and factors that had been found to be of significant
importance by previous studies for combating corruption in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach –This study employed structuredreview process as well as critically
examined the contents to ensurethat the data are filtered from high-quality peer-reviewed journals.Twenty-
five qualitypapers were selected from top journals of various areas to producethe list.
Findings –This paper contributesto the existing literature by providing a comprehensive listof factors in
Malaysiain the fight againstcorruption.
Originality/value –This study will be beneficial to academics, policymakers and anti-corruption
professionalsinterested in Malaysia’s anti-corruptionexperiences.
Keywords Corruption, Anti-corruption initiatives, Governance, Malaysia,
Southeast Asian Countries
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
Due to the greed of several people engaged in mega-scandals, such as 1MDB, FELDA,
MARA, SRC International, Sabah WaterDepartment and Tabung Haji, Malaysia, has come
under the spotlight to be labelleda kleptocratic nation (National Anti-Corruption Plan, 2019-
2023). However, the failure of anti-corruption efforts in Malaysia is due to several reasons.
The first reason is lack of political will by the country’s leader. There are political leaders
who do not walk the talk on corruption(Siddiquee, 2010). The second reason is the failure of
anti-corruption initiatives to recognize factors of corruption in the nation such as the
inability to be transparent in the procurement process by the public sector (Kapeli and
Mohamed, 2019). Finally, the third reason is the lack of public support on the effort
undertaken by theMalaysian government (Kapeli and Mohamed, 2019).
This study is a part of a research project funded by a grant (URG/SBA/00413) from Kolej Universiti
Poly-Tech MARA Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, thus we acknowledged the support with gratitude.
Corruption
studies in
Malaysia
423
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.27 No. 2, 2020
pp. 423-436
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-07-2019-0099
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