Paul Low, Minister in Najib's cabinet must resign now as President of Transparency International Malaysia

Now, that Paul Low, the President of Transparency International Malaysia has been appointed a Minister in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, it is only proper and right that he immediately resigns as President of Transparency International- Malaysia. 

In fact, no one that is serving in government, or sitting in any government appointed Commissions should be holding positions executive positions in organizations such as  Transparency International.

Another surprise was the appointment of Transparency International-Malaysia president Paul Low (below) as Minister in Prime Minister's Department. - Malaysiakini, 15/5/2013, New cabinet: Waytha, Khairy, Paul Low in; MCA out

I hope that Paul Low will do the needful to reduce corruption within Najib's government, and will stick to his principles and values. We hope that he will not turn a 'blind-eye' to corruption, but would act to EXPOSE and eliminate it, and get rid of all the bad apples within the cabinet and the government who are involved in corruption. Do not assist in 'cover ups'.

Maybe one of the first things that Paul Low should do, is to make ensure Najib's cabinet's full cooperation in this Scorpene affair. Make sure that full access is given to all necessary documents, and full cooperation by Malaysia. We all do not want corruption.

Hopefully, Paul Low will be the de facto Anti-Corruption Minister, and with him in there Malaysia will fare better in the 2013 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index and score at least 80. The media statement issued by Paul Low in December 2012 is attached below.  

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) is an independent, non-governmental and non-partisan organisation committed to the fight against corruption. TI-M is registered with the Registrar of Societies Malaysia and is the accredited National Chapter of the Berlin-based Transparency International.

PRESS STATEMENT 5 December 2012.  Issued in conjunction with the worldwide launch of the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2012. Transparency International (TI) today released its Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) results for 2012. The assessment was made for 176 countries based on the upgraded methodology which allow for more accurate year by year comparison. Instead of scores ranging from 1 to 10, the new CPI 2012 scores range from 0 to 100 (0 being most corruption and 100 be corruption free). As the methodology is an upgraded version, the results are therefore not comparable with previous results. See attachment for full results of the survey. For the CPI 2012 the following are the ten top scores: Rank Country 2012 CPI Score 2011 GDP per Capita (US $) 1 Denmark 90 59,684 1 Finland 90 49,391 1 New Zealand 90 32,620 * 2 Sweden 88 56,927 3 Singapore 87 46,241 4 Switzerland 86 80,391 5 Australia 85 60,642 5 Norway 85 98,102 6 Canada 84 50,345 6 Netherlands 84 50,087 Source: Worldbank http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries * 2010 figure Malaysia’s score is 49 with a country ranking of 54, together with Czech Republic, Latvia, and Turkey.  Malaysia’s position continues to be in the mid-range average, indicating that while many steps have been undertaken under the GTP/NKRA initiatives, the respondents have not experienced a significant decrease in corruption. One very telling indicator of the feeling on the ground is the result of TI‘s Briber Payers Survey which asked companies in Malaysia: “During the last 12 months, do you think that your company has failed to win a contract or gain new business because a competitor has paid a bribe?. 50% answered “Yes”, the highest score among the 30 countries surveyed (See results attached). This is an extraordinarily high response and may indicate that corruption in the public sector is systemic and in some areas institutionalised. More bold measures must be taken to eliminate entrenched interests and processes that support abuses. Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) is of the view that to achieve substantial improvements in our fight against corruption the following actions are necessary: 1.    Reforms in the political arena to reduce monetisation of politics and eliminate opportunities for state capture which results in grand corruption 2.    Continue to strengthen law enforcement institutions especially the MACC, Judiciary and Police. Their complete independence must be established to secure the public’s trust 3.    Uphold the rule of law without fear or favour so that abusers especially “big fish” cases do not have impunity from prosecution 4.    Overhaul the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and introduce a federal Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 5.    Firm and consistent actions in upholding transparency and accountability in public procurement 6.    Tackle systemic corruption by focusing on specific sectors through the involvement of all stakeholders. For example, a coalition involving CIDB, contractors, professional bodies and other regulators in the construction industry could be established to drive the initiative to reduce corruption 7.    Further improve whistleblower legislation to provide wider protection to whistle blowers and encourage more whistle blowing We must redouble our efforts to fight corruption on all fronts, as the consequences to our country and its economy will be dire if we lose this battle. TI-M urges all stakeholders including the civil service, private sector, enforcement agencies and members of the public to play our part in saying NO to Corruption. Issued by Transparency International Malaysia Datuk Paul Low, President                                    Contact No.: +6017 876 2550