PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it will review the findings of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index after the country fell five spots to be placed 62 out of 180 countries.

       MACC said it took the scores and Malaysia’s standings in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index seriously.

       "The CPI 2021 shows that Malaysia’s scores have dropped from 51 to 48 which is a consecutive decline since 2019.

       "As such, MACC urged all parties to continue the cooperation and direction as well as to have the political commitment to improve anti-corruption efforts in the country as the commission is subjected to its jurisdiction as an enforcement agency.

       "MACC will review the findings of the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index score and will provide recommendations in the near future," it said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 25).

       Malaysia dropped five places to be placed 62 out of 180 countries in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2021, scoring 48 points.

       In 2020, Malaysia was ranked 57 out of 180 countries, scoring 51 out of 100 points.

       The index uses a scale of 0 to 100 points, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.