Combatting corruption in Brunei Darussalam

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the government of Brunei's anti-corruption programme. Design/methodology/approach - A range of sources are used including online materials from Brunei government websites, reports of international organisations, press articles, conference papers, a thesis case study, journal articles, a book, chapters in books, and interviews with an officer working with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Brunei. Findings - The paper considers the factors that contribute to government corruption, and the measures to combat it. These include various laws to combat corruption and the work of the ACB in enforcing these laws and in undertaking major initiatives of prevention and education. The effectiveness of these measures are assessed and a number of recommendations are made of direct and indirect measures improve the programme to combat corruption. The paper points to the moderately favourable rankings and ratings that Brunei has earned in combating corruption, which is well above neighbouring countries where corruption is still widespread, but noticeably below the rankings and ratings of the least corrupt countries. However, it argues that further progress to combat corruption may be difficult, as a result of the lack accountability and limited transparency, which are essential features of Brunei's system of government based on absolute monarchy. Also hindering further progress is the inbuilt protection of the privileges of the Malay community within the country, which protects their role in the civil service and the business sector. Originality/value - The paper is the first scholarly examination of the anti-corruption programme in Brunei.