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SINGAPORE: The Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and China are among
the most corrupt Asian economies, according to results of a regional
poll of expatriate businessmen released Monday.
Singapore and Hong Kong retained their rankings
as the cleanest economies, the Political and Economic Risk
Consultancy (PERC) said.
The annual survey covers only 13 economies in
Asia and excludes other countries notorious for corruption, such as
Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Some 1,400 expatriates were polled in January
and February this year, PERC said.
Corruption remains a problem in the region,
despite huge economic progress made over the years, with governments
generally lacking the political will to tackle the problem, the Hong
Kong-based PERC said.
“The Philippines is a sad case when it comes
to corruption,” the consultancy said in a summary report made
available to media.
The Philippine situation is “probably no worse
than in places like Indonesia and Thailand,” but corruption has
become politicized and is openly discussed in the media, unlike in
authoritarian countries like China and Vietnam, it said.
The Philippines scored 9.0 out of a possible 10
points under a grading system used by PERC under which zero is the
best score and 10 the worst.
Just last week, the Manila-based Asian
Development Bank scored the Philippines in a report, saying rampant
corruption, political instability and poor revenue collections are
the main culprits in the country’s worsening poverty incidence.
As in the 2007 survey, Thailand remained the
second-most corrupt economy after the Philippines, with a score of
8.0 after the military, which seized power in a coup in 2006, was
seen to have failed to tackle the problem.
“The kingdom’s economy has been marking time
for two years while it sorts out political problems in which
allegations of corruption figure prominently,” said PERC.
Indonesia, which ranked behind Thailand with a
score of 7.98, has made improvements under President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, but the perception of the civil service as one prone to
graft remains strong, said PERC.
“International ratings agencies might have
improved Indonesia’s foreign and domestic currency debt ratings
recently, citing the government’s efforts to tackle corruption …
however, the problem is still very serious,” PERC said.
Corruption is also perceived to have worsened in
Malaysia, which scored 6.37 in the survey, worse than last year’s
grade of 6.25, but the country retained its number six ranking in
the poll.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi’s failure to carry out his promise to fight graft was one
of the key reasons his ruling coalition suffered its worst results
during Saturday’s elections, PERC said.
“A promise to fight corruption was the main
campaign theme that won [Abdullah] a big increase in voter support
in the last national elections [in 2004],” the consultancy said.
The pressure is now on Abdullah, who rejected
pressure to step down despite the poll setback, to show he is
serious about fighting corruption in his second term as prime
minister, said PERC.
China’s score worsened to 7.98 from 6.29 last
year, with corruption seen to be as widespread as ever, despite
Beijing’s efforts to clamp down on it.
“The economy is growing so rapidly that even
low-level officials are able to amass illicit fortunes.”
“The penalties for getting caught might be
draconian, but graft is so widespread and the potential rewards so
great that people seem to be more than willing to take the risks.”
-- AFP
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