More corruption cases involving high-ranking government officers are being exposed due to the good work performed by the MACC, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low said.

Low then went on to deny that the increase in corruption scandals involving these officers was an indicator of a growing trend in corruption.

"The index that measures corruption does not exist in Malaysia or in any other country around the world," he said in response to Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (PKR-Bukit Katil) in a parliamentary reply dated Aug 7.

"(We have) the index that measures perception on corrupt practices, which is the Corruption Perception Index (CPI)," Low said.

"The increase in investigations into hundreds of millions of ringgit in corruption cases involving high-ranking officers and political officials recently was not the indicator of the growing trend in corruption.

"On the contrary, the increase in investigation, arrest and conviction in corruption cases has been due to education, increased awareness, public cooperation and efficient enforcement."

Shamsul asked whether corruption cases involving high-ranking government officers, such as in Malacca and other states, showed that the corruption index remains high in Malaysia.

In another parliamentary reply, Low told Dr Ko Chung Sen (DAP-Kampar) that 1,717 cases were taken to court between 2012 and July 15, 2017.

In the same period, he said 1,073 cases led to conviction, with RM779.66 million confiscated.