Abstract:

It is widely argued that good govemance is one of the main prerequisites for sustainable development of nations the world over. This is because good governance requires continuous interactions, as well as the sharing of power and information between formal and informal governance actors while simultaneously emphasizing accountability, consensus, effectiveness, efficiency, equitability, inclusivity, responsiveness, the rule of law, and transparency in making, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programmes that affect the welfare of nations and their societies. In Malaysia, good governance mechanisms and structures are present to: (i) address issues of corruption; (ii) uphold the rule of law; (m) promote and ensure accountability through regular elections and various means of expression; (iv) provide avenues for the articulation of citizens’ concems; (v) prevent marginalization of s0ciety’s weaker members; (vi) realign and redistribute society’s power relations; (vii) mobilize social capital; (vm) deliver essential public services; (ix) uphold regulatory standards; and (x) prevent govemment destabilization through violent unconstitutional means. However the alarming incidences, nature and scope of corruption in recent years, have resulted in concerns over the state of “good governance" in the country, As previous studies have concentrated on corruption in specific dimensions of good governance, it is believed that an overview of the effects of corruption on all dimensions of good governance is needed so that an overall impression of how things stand, can be made, Hence this preliminary explanatory study uses directed content analysis of primary and secondary data to examine the effects of corruption on all dimensions of good governance from 201 1 to 2020, Findings show that almost all good govemance dimensions have been adversely affected by corruption. Recommendations include various means of strengthening existing good governance mechanisms and structures so that incidences of corruption can be curbed.