In his Ponggal message, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has urged a renewal in fighting corruption by adopting six steps of integrity.

"Establishing integrity will not only bring human dignity but also economic dignity to Malaysians that reward hard work and gives equal opportunities to all," he said in a statement today.

"Only with economic dignity can Malaysia eliminate poverty and develop into a high-income economy," he added.

Lim, who was recently embattled by queries on his new purchase of a 2012 Mercedes-Benz, laid down the integrity steps which includes instituting public declaration of assets of government officials.

This, he added, includes the prime minister, ministers, chief ministers and the state executive council members, vetted by an international accounting firm.

In Penang, Lim and 29 other assemblypersons have declared their assets after winning the state in the May 5 general election.

The 10 BN assemblypersons, all from Umno, said they have declared theirs to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Lim also urged open competitive tenders to be implemented as another item in ensuring integrity in governance.

"Bar family members from involvement in government contracts, protect genuine whistleblowers, remove leaders with extravagant lifestyles and come clean on political donations," he said.

He continued to slam the BN leadership for allegedly turning a blind eye to reports that  fraud, bribery and corruption are at a "rather dangerous" trend and an inevitable part of doing business in Malaysia.

Lim described the findings by international accounting firm, KPMG as a "shocking survey" done between March and August last year.

The survey was based on responses by some 100 respondents from some 1,000 public-listed companies.

Over a quarter of the respondents were either chief executive officers or chief financial officers.

The findings revealed that about 80 percent believe that bribery and corruption have increased over the last three years, while 64 percent say that business cannot proceed unless bribes are paid.

Eighty-one percent agreed that they paid bribes to secure routine administrative approvals from government agencies while 83 percent acknowledged that fraud was a problem when doing business in Malaysia.

Lim said the "abdication of duty" by the Attorney-General's Chambers in dropping charges of cheating against former transport minister and ex-MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy over the RM12.85 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal "merely serve to confirm KPMG's survey".

"BN must be reminded that if they continue to trivialise the climate of fraud, bribery and corruption that is presently at a rather dangerous trend, Malaysia will not be able to eliminate poverty and remain stuck in the middle-income trap," he warned.