• Germany
• Honduras
• Kenya
• Malaysia
• Nigeria
• South Korea

In Germany, the President of the Confederation of German Industries (BDI), Hans-Olaf Henkel, called on the leading German exporting companies, to address the issue of foreign bribery more vigorously. Reacting to the middle-ranking of Germany in the Bribe payers Index, Henkel said that many companies in Germany were still unaware of the new OECD Convention which bans the bribery of foreign public officials. The BDI President praised the efforts of Transparency International. He also called on the German government to exert greater pressure on all those OECD countries that still had not ratified the OECD Convention.

Meanwhile, the government of Honduras reacted with surprise to being perceived as the most corrupt country in Latin America, Reuters reported. The government said it was making huge efforts to clamp down on irregularities. " This really surprised us a lot because it's precisely during the government of President Carlos Flores that we have made great efforts to combat corruption," said presidential chief of staff (Presidency Minister) Gustavo Alfore.

In Kenya, The Nation comments on Kenya's low score in the CPI: "It is a damning judgement on a nation once considered among the most promising south of the Sahara. But then, if we are honest with ourselves, Transparency International have only put in words and figures what we already know."

In Malaysia, Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik described the results of the Bribe Payers Index as ridiculous, the New Straits Times writes. The BPI reports perceptions among the 770 respondents that Malaysian businesspeople are among those most likely to offer bribes to foreign Governments to win businesses abroad.

Dr Lim questioned the manner in which the poll was conducted and the basis for arriving at such a conclusion. "We must know who exactly were the people surveyed, who they represented and of which nationalities," he said.

Dr Lim's views were also supported by the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Its executive director Peter Jenkins said the majority of its members, most of whom were multinational organisations, had extremely tough in- house regulations on business ethics. "I get the feeling that there are probably not many MICCI members included in the Transparency International survey, which has put Malaysia in such a very undesirable position on the BPI," he said.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president Datuk Paul Low said local goods could not remain competitive in the foreign market if businessmen bribed foreign Governments. "To remain competitive, any product must among others, be of high quality, reasonably priced and must be delivered fast upon order."

Meanwhile in Penang, Komag USA (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Tan Thiam Seng said the California-based independent supplier of thin- film media for computer hard disk drives was committed to conduct business activities with honesty, integrity and in full compliance with the laws and regulations of the countries in which it did business. As such, all its 2,400 employees in Malaysia were bound by the company's "Code of Ethics" which had to be signed annually. Penang serves as off-shore bases to many of the world's technology giants such as Intel, Motorola, Dell, Seagate, Komag and Fairchild Semiconductor.

In a response to Malaysia's position in the CPI, opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang called for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency to come out with a policy statement why Malaysia has slipped further in the 1999 CPI. "The ACA should come out with a policy statement why Malaysia has slipped further in the latest index and what new strategy it proposes to adopt to give Malaysia a more respectable ranking on TI's CPI beginning next year," he said in a statement.

The Nigerian government reacted favourably to the CPI which ranks the country in the second-worst position, Agence France Press reported. A statement issued by presidential spokesman Doyin Okupe said that "President Olusegun Obasanjo has no objections to the results shown in the poll. In his view, the poll shows the magnitude of the challenge the present administration is facing and addressing energetically." "It should also draw further attention to the need for Nigerians to collectively support the Federal Government's efforts to stem corruption and redeem Nigeria's image with the international community," the text said. Obasanjo expressed the hope that the CPI "will spur" the national Assembly to expedite action on his anti-corruption bill "which remains crucial for the success of his efforts to fight corruption in Nigeria," the statement said.

In South Korea, most of the attention was directed towards the low 3,4-score of the country in the Bribe Payers Index which meant that the country scored only the second-worst position after China. Reacting to the considerable public attention the BPI attracted, one major news agency, Yonhap News ( www.yonhapnews.co.kr/), prepared an instant opinion poll via internet. The question posed was "Do you agree with TI's publication of the BPI and CPI that says Korea is one of the most corrupted countries?". Of the 4,601 respondents, 90% said they agreed with the rankings.

"We would like to know what system they use to arrive at their wild statistics. Shylock is alive and well but he now goes by the euphemism of 'donor' and the real scandal is that countries such as Kenya pay him $1.3 million (Sh100 million) per day or $487 million (Sh37 billion) per year in interest," the MP said. He said that the amount was more than what the government loses through corruption."