In the wake of high-profile corruption scandals to have rocked the nation in recent days, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang today revealed more disheartening news.

According to him, the Hong Kong-based Political Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) 2007 corruption table in Asia is 'bad and grim' news for all Malaysians concerned about national integrity, good governance and international competitiveness.

The table, released annually based on a poll of expatriates working in Asia, saw Malaysia ranked sixth, with China and India breathing down its neck.

Malaysia scored 6.25 in a grading system with zero as the best possible score and 10 as the worst. While its score has worsened from 6.13 last year, Malaysia's ranking has moved up one notch from seventh to sixth.

"In 1996, Malaysia was ranked fourth with a score of five, (the current ranking is) a reflection of the relentless deterioration of the corruption problem in the country over the years," said Lim in a statement.

Since the PERC ranking is one of the polls used by Transparency International (TI) for its Corruption Perception Index or CPI, he noted, that it is a forewarning that Malaysia is heading south towards No 50 in the TI CPI 2007 on the occasion of the nation's 50th Merdeka anniversary this year.

Malaysia was ranked 44th among 163 countries in the TI CPI 2006. The TI corruption index for this year will be released in early 2007.

Grim warnings

Lim said there are many grim warnings from the 2007 PERC Corruption Table that Malaysia is losing out in its international competitiveness because of its failure to enhance good governance indicators, particularly in the war against corruption.

"It will not be long before Malaysia slips further in the Asian and international corruption rankings, as we are also losing out to China and India," he added.

In 1996, China was ranked 12th in Asia with a score of eight but has now leapt to the seventh spot with a score of 6.29 whereas India is ranked nine with a score of 6.67.

"If Malaysia does not pull up its bootstraps in the fight against corruption, we will soon be losing out to China and India," warned Lim.

"It must be regarded as a national shame and tragedy if in any future international corruption ranking, Malaysia is regarded as so corrupt as to even lose out to China and India," he added.

Over the past two weeks, Malaysians were stunned to learn of the corruption scandals involving high-profile figures.

The nation's top graft fighter, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Zulkipli Mat Noor was himself accused of amassing properties and wealth beyond his means.

Following this, Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharum was alleged to have received RM5.5 million in bribes to free certain criminal suspects held under the Emergency Ordinance.

Both cases are currently under investigation and the duo have denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has vowed that there will be no let-up in the war against corruption.