The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is deepening its strategic alliance with Transparency International (TI) as part of broader efforts to advance governance standards, institutional integrity and anti-corruption work both domestically and globally. The renewed commitment was underscored during a recent meeting at MACC headquarters in Putrajaya, where TI chair François Valerian met with MACC deputy chief commissioner (Prevention) Datuk Azmi Kamaruzaman.

Datuk Azmi highlighted MACC's appreciation for the partnership and pledged to expand collaborative initiatives aimed at promoting good governance, transparency and integrity across Malaysia's institutional landscape. The commission signalled its intention to identify fresh areas of cooperation that could strengthen the country's overall integrity framework.

Through its National Governance Planning Division, MACC serves as the primary secretariat for the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) Special Task Force. Operating alongside six CPI focus groups, the commission engages regularly with government ministries, state agencies, universities, business organisations and civil society bodies to analyse the factors influencing Malaysia's international corruption rankings.

Malaysia's CPI score climbed from 50 to 52 points in 2025, pushing the nation up three places to 54th globally. François Valerian stressed that sustained improvements require a combination of robust preventive measures alongside rigorous enforcement. He called for anti-corruption bodies to receive sufficient funding, staffing and operational independence from political pressures to fulfil their mandates effectively.

Valerian welcomed Malaysia's ambition to reach the world's top 25 nations in CPI rankings by 2030, signalling TI's readiness to support anti-corruption agencies in achieving measurable progress on corruption perceptions across the region.