The United Nations Convention Against Corruption should be tabled in the current parliamentary sitting for ratification, urged Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang today.

Tomorrow, Dec 9, marks the first anniversary of the UN convention being opened for signing in Merida, Mexico.

Malaysia was one of the 113 countries which signed the milestone convention on global efforts to combat corruption.

However, the convention requires ratification by 30 countries for it to become an active and legally binding instrument for states.

To date, only 12 states have ratified the convention.

Lim said as chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, Organisation of Islamic Conference and Asean, Malaysia should take the lead in ratifying the convention.

"The convention should be tabled in the current meeting of Parliament for ratification, so that Malaysia will be among the first 30 countries to bring the UN Convention Against Corruption into active force," he added.

The current Parliament sitting will adjourn next Tuesday.

The opposition leader has sent a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday pertaining to the matter.

'No let up'

Yesterday, the premier pledged there would be "no let up" in his anti-corruption drive, which was among the major thrust behind his landslide election victory in March.

He also revealed that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) had made 445 arrests in the first 10 months this year, compared with 339 last year.

However, detractors have remained sceptical of the anti-corruption drive, which they claim only targets the 'small fries'.

Abdullah had also failed to sign an anti-corruption pledge programme introduced by Transparency International (TI) to pledge their personal commitment in fighting corruption.

According to a statement released by TI in June, the body had expressed its disappointment that out of 66, only one minister and nine deputies signed the integrity pledge form in April.

Also among the notable abstainers was Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.