As the world’s telecommunications field accustoms itself to digital transformation spurring the global technological revolution, Malaysia is no exception in experiencing this significant change. The breakneck growth of the telecommunications services charts the substantial demand in the market and showing the rise of revenue in 2018. The mobile operators contributed a big chunk to it, equivalent to 64% of the total revenue. Hence, the telecommunications industry is set to fully embrace the inevitable changes, which come with an evolving communications sector. Nevertheless, with its high revenue generation, the telecommunication is vulnerable to the risks of corruption. Therefore, this research aims at investigating the factors leading to the risk of corruption in the telecommunication sector and the role of Malaysian existing integrity and transparency policies in reducing or eliminating the risk of corruption posed by the structural and digital transformation of the telecommunications sector in Malaysia. This research adopted the doctrinal research approach as systematic means of legal reasoning, analysing the legal propositions and instrumentalizations from both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include statutes, regulations, bye-laws, cases, government circulars and directives, which will form the legal reasoning on the issue of integrity and transparency in the telecommunications industry. Furthermore, the secondary sources will also be scrutinised ranging from journal articles, books and cases commentaries to shape the critiques of the existing practice and the legal framework in Malaysia. Identifying the factors leading to the risks of corruptions assists in the development of improved mechanisms in strengthening integrity and transparency in the Malaysian telecommunications sector as underlined by the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023. It is indeed a gold standard which aims to further improve the quality of life in paving the way towards a corrupt-free nation. In this setting, the research findings indicate that the telecommunication ecosystem is susceptible to layers of the network, intricate governance systems that imply regular engagement between corporations and government, scale effects and technological disruption, all of which impede the development of competitive markets, fair trade and prices establishment as well as the setting of public interestdriven regulations.

Corruption in the Telecommunication Sector, Integrity and Transparency in Governance, Governance of the Telecommunication Sector