UNCAC Awareness and Implementation Workshop for Civil Society in Malaysia

Petaling Jaya, 8 May 2025 – INITIATE.MY participated in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Awareness and Implementation Workshop for Civil Society in Malaysia, hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M). The workshop gathered civil society groups, legal experts, and anti-corruption advocates to reflect on Malaysia’s progress under the UNCAC and explore ways forward.

Corruption remains a key obstacle to development and good governance in Southeast Asia. This workshop has served several purposes:

• Timely space to assess Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts, particularly in response to two UNCAC review cycles conducted in 2013 and 2017. These reviews focused on key areas such as law enforcement, preventive measures, and asset recovery, offering both insights and recommendations for reform.
• The linkage between corruption and organised crime. Case studies such as the 1MDB scandal highlighted how large-scale corruption can enable crimes like money laundering. While other examples showed how organised criminal networks have facilitated terrorism financing.
• Strengthening the role of civil society in UNCAC implementation, encouraging knowledge exchange, and identifying actionable strategies to address ongoing gaps.

INITIATE.MY shared reflections from its policy work on Malaysia’s National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (MyPCVE). Drawing from its 2022 policy brief “Civil Society Deserves a Seat at the Table,” INITIATE.MY documented how civil society is often sidelined in security policymaking processes. This exclusion is not unique to the security sector as similar gaps are evident in UNCAC processes, where civil society organisations are rarely included in formal reviews. Without genuine civil society engagement, transparency and reform risk falling short.

Overall, the workshop provided an opportunity to engage with civil society organisations and anti-corruption experts and deepened the organisation’s capacity in understanding international anti-corruption frameworks, and reflecting on how corruption intersects with INITIATE.MY’s work to prevent extremism and terrorism. This includes the patronage and financing aspects; the terrorist financing to sanctioned groups such as IS and the misappropriation of charity funds under the guise of humanitarian and religious causes such as AMAN Palestin and GISB Holdings cases in 2024.

Civil society representatives, legal experts, and anti-corruption advocates in Malaysia gathered at the UNCAC Awareness and Implementation Workshop, reaffirming their commitment to transparency, accountability, and inclusive governance.