Exploring anti-corruption education in Malaysian educational institutions
| Date | 24 May 2023 |
| Pages | 284-299 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-02-2023-0037 |
| Published date | 24 May 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
| Author | Nor Farizal Mohammed,Norziana Lokman,Norazida Mohamed,Norsuhaily Abu Bakar |
Exploring anti-corruption
education in Malaysian
educational institutions
Nor Farizal Mohammed,Norziana Lokman and Norazida Mohamed
Accounting Research Institute (HICOE), Universiti Teknologi MARA,
Shah Alam, Malaysia, and
Norsuhaily Abu Bakar
Faculty of Applied Social Science, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin,
Terengganu, Malaysia
Abstract
Purpose –From 2000 to 2021, the Malaysian corruption perception index demonstrated a declining
tendency,identifying Malaysia as a highly corrupt nation. Corruption in the nation has become a social cancer
that has impacted the workplace and political climate.Using Dewey’s (1937) theory of education and social
change, this paper argues that anti-corruption education is a tool for reforming the corruption culture of a
nation. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to explore and understand the current anti-corruption
educationin Malaysian educational institutions.
Design/methodology/approach –The results of this study were derived from a qualitative content
analysis of 20 Google News articles, an interviewwith the sole implementation agency, the Malaysian Anti-
Corruption Commission (MACC) and a literature assessment of MACC publications. Due to a dearth of
preceding study and journal publications on the topic, this type of qualitative content analysis of news has
been appliedin prior studies.
Findings –The results indicate that anti-corruption education has been implemented in the primary,
secondary and higher education institutions in Malaysia. Nonetheless, the concept and implementation are
inadequate, superficial and insufficient. The analysis advises moreinclusive techniques for delivering anti-
corruptioneducation for social transformation.
Originality/value –Prior research has focussedon laws and regulations to prosecute the corrupt, but has
underrated the abilityof education to alter the corruption culture. To the best of the authors’knowledge,this
is the first journal paper,written on anti-corruption education in Malaysia. This study sets the way for further
anti-corruption education studies in the future. This line of research will provide insights for the nation’s
policymaking,which aims to create a nation free of corruption andcapable of sustaining itself.
Keywords Anti-corruption education, Ethics, Higher education, Moral, Schools
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Corruption is the abuse of power for personal gain, and its consequences are considerably
known to cause harm to the country. Mega-scandals such as 1MDB, FELDA,MARA, SRC
International, Sabah Water Departmentand Tabung Haji, emphasise Malaysia’s reputation
as a kleptocratic country (National Anti-Corruption Plan, 2019–2023). By contrast,
Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan are low-corruption countries in Asia. Figure 1 shows that
The authors acknowledge the financial grant from the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme
Research (600-RMC/FRGS 5/3 (029/2022), Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.
JMLC
27,2
284
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.27 No. 2, 2024
pp. 284-299
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-02-2023-0037
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1368-5201.htm
these countries are ranked 4th, 12th and 18th, respectively, on the corruption perception
index (CPI) in 2021, indicating that they are clean in terms of corruption (Transparency
International, 2022). Meanwhile,Malaysia is classified as highly corrupt, with a CPI ranking
of 57th and 62nd in the year 2020 and 2021, respectively (TransparencyInternational, 2021,
2022). Figure 1 shows the decreasing trend of Malaysia’sCPI from 2000 to 2021. Indeed, this
development is a worrisomeissue in the country.
In fighting corruption, the Malaysian Government has implemented numerous
initiatives, legislation and regulations at par with other countries’approaches (Muhamad
and Gani, 2020). Nevertheless, penalties, rules and regulations come after people have
committed the crime. Although some people learn from the penalties, many people do not.
They refuse to understand or merely evade the penalties. Many of those charged are
acquitted owing to technicalities. Moreover, the implementation of laws is not sufficiently
effective to curb corruption. Komalasari and Saripudin (2015) reiterated the error in
exerting considerable effort in curbing corruption by substantially focussing on
convicting those involved in corruption but minimal attention is given on preventive
measures. Apparently, fighting corruption entails more than prosecuting criminals and
identifying criminal activities. Preventive measures are vital because corruption in
Malaysia has turned into a social disease that has infected the workplace, education
system and political environment. Effort to fight corruption will be ineffective in the long
run unless early preventive measures are formulated and implemented, and eventually
reachallfacetofsociety.
Notably, Malaysia has a high cultural tolerancefor corruption (PriceWaterhouseCoopers,
2018). Hence, the puzzling issue is how to transform Malaysia’s culture of corruption, given
that corruption has penetratedthe people’s mentality and culture. Komalasari and Saripudin
(2015) recommended the mentality recovery approach to solve the corruption problem.
Recent studies have indicated that education is a powerful tool in disseminating anti-
Figure 1.
CPI for Singapore,
Hong Kong, Japan
and Malaysia
Malaysian
educational
institutions
285
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