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NIS Overview Report Released Report investigates strength of institutions of oversight and accountability in East and Southeast Asia |
Overview of the effectiveness of National Integrity Systems in East and Southeast Asia
Introduction to the Report and NIS Studies
Press Release
Regional Trends in curbing corruption
Overview of the effectiveness of National Integrity Systems in East and Southeast Asia
Recommended Best Practice
Related links
Media Contacts
Introduction to the Report and NIS Studies
Transparency International’s Regional Overview Report on National Integrity Systems in East and Southeast Asia identified regional trends and best practices based on nine National Integrity System (NIS) Studies undertaken in the region in 2006, in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The National Integrity System (NIS) has been developed by TI as part of its holistic approach to combating corruption.
The NIS is made up of the key institutions, laws and practices that contribute to integrity, transparency and accountability in a society. The NIS can help demonstrate that corruption is a part of a larger struggle against abuse of power and misappropriation in all its forms. With the NIS, TI can analyse how and why corruption operates in a particular context. By diagnosing the strengths and weaknesses of an integrity system, it can be evaluated how anti-corruption advocacy and reform efforts can be improved and the overall effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts maximised.
The report identifies the major trends in curbing corruption by comparing and contrasting best practices employed in the region. The NIS studies found that reliance on multiple anti-corruption agencies leads to lack of coordination, competition for resources and dilution of anti-corruption efforts, whilst a single anti-corruption agency proves more effective in leading the fight against corruption.
The report culminates in three suggestions to improve the effectiveness of NIS in the different countries.
Firstly, political will to curb corruption should be combined with a single independent anti-corruption agency;
secondly, civil society should mobilise other sectors to fight corruption through coalition building;
lastly, as corruption cannot be solved overnight the report suggests that a sectoral approach might be best suited to tackle critical sectors.
See more information on the Regional Project here
Read the full Regional Overview Report
Press Release
TI report investigates strength of institutions of oversight and accountability in East and Southeast Asia Berlin
Transparency International (TI) today released a report investigating the health of those institutions on the front line of the fight against corruption in East and Southeast Asia.
The Regional Overview Report on National Integrity Systems in East and Southeast Asia identified regional trends and best practice based on nine National Integrity System (NIS) Studies undertaken in the region in 2006, in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Read more ..
Regional Trends in curbing corruption
The nine societies covered in the report differ in terms of geography, population and wealth. The regional overview report recognises that these discrepancies together with different systems of governance operating in each country, will influence how their NIS operates.
Given the sheer diversity of this region, the wide range of anti-corruption measures implemented across the different territories is unsurprising. However, the report has discovered a number of trends that can be used as a tool to identify the most effective practices in the region.
The analysis of the anti-corruption strategies demonstrates a reliance on two forms of corruption control through the establishment of single or multiple anti-corruption agencies.
The first is the reliance on a leading anti-corruption institution spearheading the fight against corruption. This was first implemented by Singapore with the establishment of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and followed by Malaysia (Anti-Corruption Agency), Hong Kong (Independent Commission against Corruption), Thailand (National Counter Corruption Commission) and South Korea (Korea Independent Commission against Corruption).
The remaining countries, with the exception of Japan, rely on multiple agencies to curb corruption. The Philippines best exemplifies this trend. Since 1950, there have been 18 presidential anti-corruption agencies. Today, on top of the Tanodbayan (Ombudsman), and the Sandiganbayan (Anti-Graft Court), there exist five presidential anti-corruption agencies Similarly, Vietnam has six anti-corruption agencies. In 2005, the need to coordinate their efforts was finally recognised. The Law on Anti-Corruption provided for the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Steering Committee (NACSC) under the Prime Minister’s jurisdiction to coordinate anti-corruption efforts.
China’s Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI) within the Communist Party of China (CPC) deals with corruption complaints against party members. The courts together with the Supreme People’s Procuratorate are responsible for enforcing criminal law whilst the Ministry of Supervision focuses on the disciplinary control of civil servants. Both the CCDI and the Ministry of Supervision are represented at the provincial, municipal, and county levels.
Cambodia relies on five departments within the Ministry of the National Assembly–Senate Relations and Inspection (MoNASRI), formed in 1999 to combat corruption. These departments deal with, inspection, inspection relations, they monitor law enforcement, complaints and investigation and deal with conflict resolution. The MoNASRI is supplemented by the Anti-Corruption Unit, created in October 1999 to investigate corruption complaints in government ministries.
Single Anti-Corruption Agency Is Effective with Political Will
The experience of Singapore and Hong Kong in fighting corruption highlights the value of having an independent agency dedicated exclusively to corruption control.
The existence of a single anti-corruption agency, however, does not guarantee success in combating corruption. However, three preconditions improve its chances of effectiveness:
- Political will, including an anti-corruption strategy, provision of sufficient personnel and resources and enforcement of anti-corruption laws.
- An incorruptible anti-corruption agency staffed by honest and competent officers, free from police and political control.
- Investigation of both petty and grand corruption, public and private sector corruption and anyone suspect regardless of status or position.
The NIS studies found that reliance on multiple anti-corruption agencies leads to lack of coordination, competition for resources and dilution of anti-corruption efforts.
Overview of the effectiveness of National Integrity Systems in East and Southeast Asia
The report found that National Integrity Systems in the countries analysed have a number of inherent weaknesses.
Societies with an effective NIS will perceive corruption as a ‘high risk, low reward’ endeavour, because those who engage in corrupt practices are likely to be caught and severely punished. The anti-corruption strategy within an effective NIS will focus on preventing corruption rather than simply investigating allegations after corruption has taken place. Conversely, a society with an ineffective NIS will perceive corruption as ‘low risk and high reward’; the anti-corruption strategy will focus on investigating existing corruption rather than preventing it. Consequently corrupt offenders are unlikely to be uncovered and punished.
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Singapore and Hong Kong |
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The Hong Kong study found that civil society groups like Civic Exchange can operate freely in Hong Kong, thus helping the territory to achieve a more inclusive type of governance.
In contrast, the Singapore NIS study noted the lack of an active civil society and the relative weakness of the media, as well as strong political competition between parties and concluded that, Singapore has succeeded in containing corruption thanks to the political will of the ruling elites and a very sound anti-corruption framework.
Although former British colonies, both Hong Kong and Singapore have fought corruption by rejecting the British colonial method of depending on police authorities and relying instead on a single anti-corruption agency to lead anti-corruption efforts. On the other hand, both Singapore and Hong Kong have maintained the British meritocratic tradition in their Civil Service, first introduced by the British through the Public Service Commission (PSC) .
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Notwithstanding these achievements, the studies of Hong Kong and Singapore both identified potential areas for improvement to ensure that the systems in place continue to effectively combat corruption.
Read the complete study on Singapore |
Cambodia
At the other end, Cambodia’s average governance score of 20.11 is the lowest among the nine countries. The NIS study of Cambodia found that corruption is ‘so widespread and deep-rooted [that it] will take years of reform and restructuring of [the] existing systems’. Corruption has ‘permeated almost every aspect of Cambodian life’.
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Many Cambodians have to pay bribes and informal fees for medical care, school grades, court verdicts, traffic “violations” and marriage and birth certificates. It is not surprising that ‘the average Cambodian views most sectors of the economy as corrupt’ and public institutions [as] not transparent’. |
Vietnam
In Vietnam, the adoption of the doi moi mixed-market reforms in 1986 led to an escalation of corruption. The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) identified corruption as a major threat to its survival during the 10th Party Congress in April 2006. Most of the respondents in the 2005 Diagnostic Survey conducted by the Internal Affairs Committee of the Central Committee of the CPV ranked corruption as the most serious problem facing the country. The NIS study of Vietnam found that both petty and grand corruption are widespread. While the passage of the first Anti-Corruption Law in late 2005 shifted the focus to corruption prevention and emphasised the role of civil society and the media, these institutions are currently ill-equipped to act as watchdogs.
The report identified are six fundamental problems in Vietnam’s NIS: the adoption of an incremental approach to tackling corruption; the protection of the politically powerful from prosecution; ‘institutional rivalry and jurisdictional disputes’ between anti-corruption agencies; widespread nepotism ; public consultation that is ‘formalistic and narrowly based’; and public reluctance to make complaints due to lack of whistleblower protection.
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Furthermore, ‘inadequate staffing, salaries, and budget allocations also inhibit the effectiveness of many pillars in the fight against corruption’. Lastly, in Vietnam there is a high degree of formalism generated by the wide gap between the formal rules governing the NIS and practices on the ground. |
Philippines
Despite efforts by the government and civil society corruption remains a serious problem in the Philippines . According to the recent country report, the NIS in the Philippines faces two major problems. Firstly, legislation tends to under-legislate (as in the lack of protection for whistleblowers) or over-legislate (like, for instance, in government regulations). The second problem is ‘more disturbing’: the study found that all the integrity pillars are ‘tainted by internal corruption and are therefore heavily compromised’, ‘unable to perform their functions and operate effectively’.
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For example, the constitutional commissions are not independent, the public procurement system is plagued with misappropriation problems, and ‘there is ... a need to improve enforcement by prosecuting and convicting “big fish” rather than “small fry”’. |
China
China has shown marked signs of improvement in addressing corruption in the past 10 years. Nevertheless, the recent analysis of China’s NIS China showed that corruption remains at a ‘comparatively severe level’.
A recent OECD evaluation of China’s efforts in fighting corruption found that ‘despite significant efforts from the CPC and government leaders, corruption remains a serious problem for both citizens and businesses, particularly for foreign direct investment’.
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Many challenges must be overcome before corruption and bribery can be contained successfully; these include over-regulation, the failure of the legislature to provide oversight of other branches and weak judicial independence. |
Thailand
In 1997, Thailand adopted the ‘People’s Constitution’ along with a series of anti-corruption measures, including the formation of the NCCC in November 1999.
However, the report found that the positive effects of these measures have been eroded in the past five years through the influence exerted by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The NCCC also suffered a serious setback when its nine commissioners resigned in May 2005, having been found guilty by the Supreme Court of abusing their powers in August 2004 when they issued an executive decree to increase their salaries by 45,000 baht (US $1,125). On a positive note, this episode shows that the NCCC members were not above the law and were held accountable for abuse of their powers.
On September 19, 2006, Thaksin’s government was overthrown in a bloodless military coup. Coup leader and head of the army General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin, suspended the constitution and declared martial law. General Surayud Chulanont, a retired Commander in the army, was sworn in as interim prime minister on October 1.
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If the Council for Democratic Reform keeps its promise to hold elections after formulating a new constitution in one year’s time, there is hope that the corruption situation in Thailand will improve. Political leaders need to demonstrate their political will to curb corruption by strengthening anti-corruption measures. |
South Korea
The South Korean government has demonstrated strong political will in curbing corruption. For example, President Kim Young Sam and President Kim Dae Jung both displayed tremendous political determination through the anti-corruption measures introduced during their respective terms of office. Kim Dae Jung’s comprehensive anti-corruption strategy resulted in the enactment of the Anti-Corruption Act in July 2001 and the creation of the KICAC in January 2002. Civil society has also played an important role in fighting corruption in South Korea through the work of K-Pact.
However, the NIS study of Korea concluded that corruption is still an issue. South Korea’s CPI ranking was 22nd out of the 30 OECD member countries in 2005, and many Koreans believe their country faces high levels of corruption.
Thus, even though the KICAC has reported a gradual improvement of South Korea’s NIS architecture and significant improvements in governance and integrity , there are still important shortcomings in South Korea’s NIS.
Four measures outlined in the NIS study to improve South Korea’s NIS: (1) introducing effective monitoring mechanisms to ensure accountability and integrity; (2) strengthening law enforcement by increasing the commitment of the courts and prosecutors to be fair and independent in performing their duties;
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(3) empowering the KICAC by providing it with ‘more authoritative and/or investigative powers’ and protecting whistleblowers from ‘tangible and intangible retaliation’ and (4) establishing a special bureau of investigation of corruption by high-ranking public officials. |
Japan
The regional overview report found the situation in Japan to be unique. There is little or no low-level corruption in the administration, but Japan suffers from a high degree of institutionalised corruption involving political leaders and business interests. The NIS study found that Japan has not demonstrated strong political will in fighting institutionalised corruption and corruption within the private sector. Its government has not assigned this task to any specialised agency. The Japanese government appears to be satisfied with maintaining the status quo.
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In its second review of Japan’s enforcement of the OECD Convention, the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommended that Japan be proactive in investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery cases . It also urged Japan to undertake an objective assessment of the legal and procedural obstacles to the effective investigation and prosecution of the offence of bribing foreign public officials. |
Recommended Best Practice
The effectiveness of a society’s NIS depends on the political will of its government in fighting corruption, its level of governance and its policy context. Singapore and Hong Kong have been successful due to their governments’ strong commitment to fighting corruption, effective governance and favourable policy contexts. On the other hand, countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam have faced more obstacles.
The report proposed that countries can improve the effectiveness of their NIS by adopting three best practices:
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- Political will to curb corruption should be combined with a single independent anti-corruption agency.
Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea have relied on a single independent anti-corruption agency as a key instrument of their anti-corruption strategies. The CPIB in Singapore and the ICAC in Hong Kong have been bolstered by demonstrations of strong political will to fight corruption in the form of comprehensive anti-corruption laws and adequate staff and budgets. Multiple agencies tend to foster lack of coordination and division of limited resources among competing agencies.
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- Secondly, a strong civil society should mobilise other sectors to fight corruption. Coalition-building can be especially useful.
South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand have been particularly successful in this regard.
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- As widespread corruption cannot be solved overnight, a sectoral approach should be used.
The sectoral approach recommends a road map for addressing the corruption in the most critical sectors requiring urgent reform. Thus, instead of attempting to eliminate corruption entirely, countries can channel scarce resources to those sectors that are in need of reform first.
Related links on the NIS Country Studies
Cambodia
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/
2006/2006_12_19_nis_cambodia
China
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/
2006/2006_12_08_chinese_nis
Japan
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/
2007/2007_01_24_nis_japan
Korea
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2006/nis_korea
Philippines
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/
2007/2007_02_01_nis_phillipines
Singapore
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/
2006/2006_12_11_singapore_nis
Vietnam
http://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases_nc/
2006/2006_11_21_nis_vietnam
Media Contacts
For more information on the reports and report authors, please contact
Nikola Sandoval
Tel: +49-30-3438 20663
Gypsy Guillén Kaiser
press@transparency.org
Tel: +49-30-3438 2019/45
Fax: +49-30-3470 3912
Alt Moabit 96
10559 Berlin, Germany
http://www.transparency.org
