Government servants’ perceptions towards corruption in Malaysia: case study in Kuching area, Sarawak / Alpha Dragam and Kamizar Bah Kajang

Corruption is serious issue in Malaysia. It has been likened to a form of cancer that undermines morality, good governance and the rule of law. In the latest Transparency International 2006 Corruption Perception Index, Malaysia was placed at 44th from 163 countries surveyed. Due to that, we have come out to conduct the study on government servants’ perceptions towards corruption practices in Malaysia which focused in Kuching area. From this study, there are five objectives that have been examined in order to find out what are the perceptions of government servants towards corruption practices. The objectives of this study are to determine the level of knowledge about corruption practices, examine the influence of Governments Servants position on their perceptions towards the relationship between Government Servants positions and corruption practices, examine the effectiveness of government effort towards corruption practices, examine the influence of gender on the level of awareness towards corruption practices and to suggest recommendations to overcome corruptions practices. A sample size for this study is 150 of government servants which come from local, state and federal level. The methods used for this study are through questionnaires and having an interview with Anti Corruption Agency (ACA)’s officer. The study shows that government servants are aware about corruption practices and gender has influenced their awareness. They also perceived that high rank of position more involved with corruption practices. Government efforts and programmes to combat corruption practices are moderate and its need improvement.