The Influence of Internal Organizational Factors in Mitigating‎Corruption among Law Enforcement Officers in Malaysia

  • Authors

    • Muhammad Safwan Ismail Legal Affairs Division, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia
    • Rina Fadhilah Ismail Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam, Malaysia
    • Suhaily Hasnan Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Puncak Alam, Malaysia
    • Alfian Sayuti Universitas Bumigora, Mataram, Indonesia
    https://doi.org/10.14419/aethmt50

    Received date: July 25, 2025

    Accepted date: January 14, 2026

    Published date: February 3, 2026

  • Corruption; Discretionary Power; Digitalization; Internal Control; Law Enforcement Agencies

  • Abstract

    This study examines organizational factors of corruption among law enforcement officers in Malaysia, focusing on accountability, internal ‎control, discretionary power, and digitalization. Grounded in agency theory, it emphasizes structural and governance-based solutions, offer-‎ing a broader perspective rather than individually oriented explanations offered by the fraud triangle theory. Data were collected through a ‎survey administered to officers from six enforcement agencies: the Immigration Department of Malaysia (IDM), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA), Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD), Royal Malaysia ‎Police (RMP), and Road Transport Department Malaysia (RTDM), which reported the highest number of corruption-related arrests by the ‎Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) between 2019 and 2023. Of the 871 questionnaires distributed, 499 valid responses ‎were obtained, representing a response rate of 57.3%. The findings reveal that accountability and internal control are significantly and negatively associated with corruption, whereas discretionary power and digitalization exhibit no statistically significant effect. These results un‎derscore the central role of formal accountability structures and effective internal control systems in mitigating corruption within law enforcement organisations. While digitalization does not demonstrate a direct anti-corruption effect, it remains relevant as an enabling mecha-‎nism for transparency and operational efficiency when supported by appropriate governance arrangements. Despite limitations related to ‎self-reported data and potential non-response bias, the study provides policy-relevant insights for enforcement agencies and contributes to ‎the literature on organizational governance and integrity in the public sector‎.

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    Ismail , M. S. ., Ismail, R. F., Hasnan , S. ., & Sayuti, A. . (2026). The Influence of Internal Organizational Factors in Mitigating‎Corruption among Law Enforcement Officers in Malaysia. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 13(1), 663-672. https://doi.org/10.14419/aethmt50