The Corruption Trend among Public Officials in Malaysia: An Overview

Abstract

The war against corruption is vital to a nation. No one can dispute the negative consequences of corruption, but still, there are those who tend to condone its practice and view it as a necessary evil of economic development. Governments in several Asian and African countries tend to accept this as part and partial of economic development. However, the fallacy of this argument was exposed following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which demonstrated how corruption had short-changed the countries. The example of Singapore was proof of the argument that a clean government is best positioned to handle an economic crisis. Corruption or bribery investigations should not be kept private but placed in the realm of public knowledge. To understand the main factors that lead to the increase of corruption among male officers as compared to women officers is of great importance as it may suggest the suitability of the Malaysian government or the federal government framework in controlling or curbing corruption for the Malaysian community which lay emphasis on traditional norms and values.