By Mata Press Service

Public outrage against corruption in Asia has been co-opted by strongmen – in the form of populist leaders who portray themselves as more effective than state institutions to win mandates and stay in power, states a new report by Transparency International.

Across the Asia-Pacific, the vast majority of countries have either declined or made little to no progress in the fight to curb graft and bribery over the past decade, said the group which this week released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), a highly-regarded global measure of anti-corruption efforts.

From India to the Philippines to China, authoritarian leaders have been able to portray themselves as more effective than state institutions and win mandates to gain and stay in power, said the report.

However, only a few of these countries have managed to make progress in controlling corruption and these gains remain fragile. Furthermore, in most countries, corruption is spreading through severe restrictions on the very civil liberties – like freedom of association and speech – which allowed people to take to the streets and call for action.

The case of India is particularly worrying. While the country’s score has remained stagnant over the past decade, some of the mechanisms that could help reign in corruption are weakening. There are concerns over the country’s democratic status, as fundamental freedoms and institutional checks and balances decay. Journalists and activists are particularly at risk and have been victims of attacks by the police, political militants, criminal gangs and corrupt local officials. Civil society organizations that speak up against the government have been targeted with security, defamation, sedition, hate speech and contempt-of-court charges, and with regulations on foreign funding.

In the case of China, the CPI shows a 9-point gain since 2014. This is in line with President Xi Jinping’s strong anti-corruption rhetoric. He has reinforced top-down controls and clamped down on some of the most brazen forms of corruption that deter investment and economic growth. However, new forms of corruption have started to emerge, including collusion, where high-level officials use their powers to redistribute formerly state-owned assets to themselves and politically-connected firms. Furthermore, China’s anti-corruption strategy is inherently limited by the country’s disregard for human rights and fundamental freedoms. This makes it impossible for civil society and a free press to serve as anti-corruption watchdogs.

Disrespect for human rights is also preventing progress against corruption in parts of the Pacific – government wrongdoing is concealed from the public and it can be risky to speak up about corruption.

Very few Pacific countries have specific laws on right to information and whistleblower protection. For example, Vanuatu’s (45) right to information unit is enshrined in law, but it is undermined by recruitment delays and the state’s relatively weak reach outside of urban centres. Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) and Solomon Islands’ whistleblower protection legislation is inadequate and poorly enforced. As a consequence, Solomon Islanders are not reporting corruption.

Concerns have also been raised about restricted media freedom. In Fiji, laws provide the government with direct oversight of the media and the ability to heavily fine critics. This fosters a climate of fear that prevents journalists from exposing corruption. In Vanuatu, the recent criminalization of defamation is likely to have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and the press. And in Australia, press freedom is also fragile, undermining public interest journalism and transparency.

The inertia on the index continues along the Mekong River in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia (23) and Vietnam. Furthermore, the lowest scorers in the region, Afghanistan and North Korea have dropped even further since last year. These two fragile states do not have the basic institutional infrastructure – such as mechanisms for administration and rule of law – to form an integrity system. They also repress citizens who speak out against corruption.

Despite generally slow progress, a few countries have made some gains. South Korea, where civil society remains vibrant and rights are respected, has achieved a 6-point increase on the index over the last ten years.

Those countries stuck in the middle of the index, like Malaysia, Indonesia and the Maldives face a more complex challenge: grand corruption. This is the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few at the expense of the many, and which can destroy whole sectors, create recessions and end democracies. In such cases mere technical interventions, useful in addressing petty corruption, are not enough.

Addressing grand corruption requires the systematic dismantling of rent-seeking structures and dishonest cultures that public officials use to pocket public funds. This needs to be driven by political leaders who hold power to account, for the common good, said Transparency International.

Alongside a massive public health mobilization, Asian governments responded to the pandemic by rolling out some of the world’s biggest economic recovery plans. But such large-scale responses, conducted without adequate checks and balances, inevitably lead to corruption.

Wrongdoing in emergency procurement has led to price inflating, the theft of medical supplies and sales of counterfeit medicines and materials. This left many citizens more vulnerable to COVID-19 – and almost certainly cost lives.

Despite the fact that whistleblowers, journalists and a vigilant public can help safeguard funds from corruption, COVID-19 has also been used as an excuse to suppress criticism.

Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia and Singapore are just a few countries that have increased digital surveillance to silence those trying to hold governments accountable during the pandemic. As authoritarian regimes refine their cyber-surveillance technologies, vicious online harassment by government-backed trolls is further restricting freedom of speech.