The Influence of Internal Organizational Factors in MitigatingCorruption among Law Enforcement Officers in Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14419/aethmt50Keywords:
Corruption; Discretionary Power; Digitalization; Internal Control; Law Enforcement AgenciesAbstract
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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