Keng Yaik questioned the manner in which the poll was conducted and the basis for arriving at such a conclusion.
A day earlier, Transparency International (TI) had issued a Bribe Payers Index (BPI), a list which ranked the leading exporting countries in terms of the degree to which their companies are perceived to be paying bribes abroad.
The 19 countries were ranked on a scale of zero to 10. Those scoring 10 represent a corrupt-free country while those lower in rung are perceived to be more corrupt.
Malaysian businessmen were ranked at number five - very likely to offer bribes to foreign Governments to win businesses.
Those ranked above Malaysia as most likely to pay off foreign Governments were China, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy. Of the 19, the least likely to offer bribes were businessmen from Sweden, followed by Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Holland and Britain.
Why is Keng Yaik upset by Transparency International’s ranking of Malaysia on its Bribe Payers Index (BPI) but not with regard to its Corruption Perception Index (CPI), with Malaysia’s ranking slipping from 29th position last year to the 32nd position in terms of the least corrupt nations out of 99 countries.
Is Keng Yaik unhappy with Malaysia’s BPI ranking by the global anti-corruption non-government organisation, but he agrees with its CPI ranking that corruption has worsened in Malaysia in the past year and that Malaysia’s anti-corruption record is worst than countries like Singapore (No. 7), Hong Kong (No. 15), Chile (No. 19), Israel (No. 20), Botswana (No. 24), Japan and Slovenia (No. 25), Estonia (No. 27), Taiwan (No. 28), Namibia (No. 29) and Hungary (No. 31).
(29/10/99)