The Malaysian government has embarked on initiatives to improve transparency in government procurement since 2010. More information about procurement activities are now available for the public. However there is room for improvement. The paper proposes the following five steps to improve this initiative.

First, incorporate new rules to the current procurement process/cycle to improve its transparency and accountability including the mandatory requirement to publish a procurement plan, allowing contractors to review the results, and publish more detailed information on awarded contracts.

Second, facilitate greater public involvement in ensuring the transparency and accountability of government contracting, while strengthening investigation processes and punitive actions.

Third, streamline various govenment electronic platforms that currently exist has to create a credible, efficient and transparent procurement system.

Fourth, enhance the professionalism and integrity of procurement officers.

Last but not least, ensure public private partnership projects (PPPs) follow the same transparency rules as government contracting.

The recommendations are the result of research and dialogue activities carried out by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) over nine months between July 2013 to March 2014. This paper elaborates upon these five recommendations in greater detail.