SIBU: The war against corruption must go on even though the country’s ranking in the latest International Transparency Index has improved from 61 to 51 among the 180 countries.
Speaking at a Chinese New Year open house yesterday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Deputy Minister Chong Chieng Jen said the fight against corruption must continue as “corruption is still here, there and everywhere”.
The event, organised by his ministry, attracted scores of people which comprised members of the public, associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), federal and state agencies, Pakatan Harapan members, state assemblymen and MPs.
“Just now, we played the ‘Negara Bersih’ song. One of Malaysia’s main agenda is to overcome corruption as it is our main enemy. Former prime minister, Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) had also said so,” he added.
The Kuching MP said the country’s standing in the 2019 International Transparency Index was the best in the past 10 years.
“We scored the best result (in our own history) for the past 10 years. This shows that we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Chong said was also stable at between 4.5 per cent and 4.7 per cent under the new Pakatan Harapan government.
On the changing landscape in the business environment, Chong urged the people to jump on the bandwagon of e-commerce.
“From the traditional business model, the world has evolved to e-commerce. Supermarkets and hypermarkets are experiencing a drop in business but those in e-commerce are enjoying a 10 per cent hike in business.
“This shows that we need to adapt to this new industrial revolution if we want to achieve new development,” he said.
Among those present were Sibu and Lanang MPs, Oscar Ling and Alice Lau respectively; Pelawan and Bukit Assek assemblymen, David Wong and Irene Chang respectively; and deputy secretary of the ministry (Consumerism and Management) Datuk Rostam Affendi Datuk Salleh.
