Kuala Lampur, Feb. 13 -- The release of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025 places Malaysia in an interesting position.

The score increased from 50 to 52, and the country's global ranking improved to 54th.

In policy analysis, these figures should be read as a signal, not a verdict. The CPI measures how business actors and experts perceive public-sector corruption.

It is sensitive to the prosecution of major cases, regulatory changes, and the credibility of institutions. Malaysia's challenge is to convert this short-term signal into long-term structure, from an integrity architecture resilient to political shocks.

A useful conceptual framework for understanding corruption combines the principal-agent model and collective action...