By Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, Member of Malaysia Integrity Institute
KOTA KINABALU: It is good that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) is planning to recommend to the government to include a corruption perception index (CPI) into the Key Performance Index (KPI) of government servants.
Including CPI in KPI’s can promote transparency and hold government agencies accountable for their actions, potentially reducing corruption and waste.
It can lead to better governance practices, including reforms, by highlighting areas where the perception of corruption is high.
Eventually, the benefits will accrue to the rakyat, as it should.
The CPI encourages transparency and integrity in government operations.
When officials know that their performance will be evaluated with this criterion, they are more likely to be more accountable and act in an open manner.
This then shifts the focus from the assessment of volume and speed of work to such issues as public trust and ethical behaviour, thereby discouraging corruption.
When civil servants are aware that their performance will be judged by public perception, they are incentivised to engage with the public and consider their feedback, ultimately improving service delivery.
On the other hand, CPI data can also be used to provide civil servants with more training, especially on ethics and anti-corruption practices.
In short, integrating a CPI into civil servants KPI can create a systemic approach to reducing corruption, enhancing governance, promoting a culture of accountability, and eventually resulting in improved staff training.
But there could also be some minor concerns. For instance, while CPI is based on perceptions, these can be subjective and may not always reflect the actual level of corruption.
There is also the risk that some agencies might manipulate their practices to improve their CPI score.
It is therefore important to be aware that overemphasis on CPI might lead to an imbalanced approach to overall performance.
Now, what indices can and should be incorporated into KPI?
For example, there should be financial indices, customer indices, employee indices, environmental and social indices, and innovation indices.
Applying these indices will ensure a more comprehensive and robust KPI that will enhance performance, help meet expectations, and lead to better governance.
