SHAH ALAM, Aug 15 — Civil servants accounted for the highest number of corruption-related arrests in Malaysia over the past decade, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) data shows.
In a written parliamentary reply, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said revealed that between 2015 and June 30, 2025, the anti-graft body recorded 2,965 arrests of civil servants for accepting bribes, out of a total of 4,896 arrests.
This was followed by 1,101 arrests involving individuals in the private sector, 680 members of the public, 119 from government-linked companies, and 31 politicians.
For bribery cases involving givers, members of the public topped the list with 1,061 arrests, followed by the private sector (511), civil servants (47), and government-linked companies (64).
By ethnicity, arrests for accepting bribes comprised 3,690 Malays, 494 Chinese, 263 Indians, and 449 from other groups. In giving bribes, Chinese individuals accounted for 630 arrests, followed by 518 from other groups, 390 Malays, and 151 Indians.
By age, individuals aged 40 and below formed the largest group arrested for accepting bribes (2,603), followed by those aged 41 to 60 (2,097) and over 60 (196). For giving bribes, the highest number came from the 41 to 60 age group (622), followed by those under 40 (981) and over 60 (86).
Azalina stressed that MACC investigations are initiated based on information or complaints received, with action taken in line with the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694).
She said this in response to Jerantut MP Khairil Nizam Khirudin, who had requested statistics on bribe givers and recipients by ethnicity, age, and occupation category over the past 10 years.
