The Anti-Corruption Agency's proposed study on the perceptions of Malaysians on the level of corruption in the country must be carried out using "first class methodology", Transparency International Malaysia Chapter president, Tunku Abdul Aziz said today.

"First class methodology means the study must not be biased; it must be even-handed, neutral, and carried out professionally to ensure ACA's credibility," Tunku Aziz told malaysiakini .

Yesterday, The Sun reported ACA director-general Ahmad Zaki Husin as saying that the ACA is planning to conduct the study with a financial grant from the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department.

According to Zaki, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) produced by TI is not complete as it focuses on the corporate sector only.

Transparency International is a non-governmental organisation dedicated toreducing both international and national corruption, and increasing government accountability.

Last year, the CPI, which ranked 99 countries, placed Malaysia 32, with No. 1 being the least corrupt.

According to Tunku Aziz, the ACA study will supplement previous TI studies on corruption as TI only conducted studies of corruption from the perceptions of the expatriate business community in the country.

"This will be an important study. It will reveal the perceptions of the people on the street who have to deal with both the government and private sectors," he said.

Meanwhile, when asked to comment on the "smart partnership agreements" between ACA and the civil services, Tunku Aziz felt that the agreement is a symbolic gesture.

Last month, the ACA and the Road Transport Department signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) as the first part of its "smart partnership agreements" to stamp out corruption in the civil service.

"Technically, it's not necessary for them (ACA) to sign an MOU with any government agency because the ACA is fully empowered to carry out its duty," he said.

"Nevertheless, the agreement will play an important part in the campaign to raise the awareness on corruption and to keep the anti-corruption agenda on the boil and TI fully supports the initiative," he added.