Journal of Building Performance ISSN: 2180-2106 Volume 10 Issue 1 2019 http://spaj.ukm.my/jsb/index.php/jbp/index Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia The Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia Page 91 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVES (TI) FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF MALAYSIA Rumaizah Mohd Nordin 1 , Zulhabri Ismail 1 , Noratika Radi @ Radzi 1 Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, MALAYSIA. *Corresponding author:rumaizah.mnordin@gmail.com Abstract Transparency is one of the practical measures taken to curtail corruption. It is about the sharing of information of government decisions and activities, good record management and access to information. Whereas, integrity provides the basis for transparency and accountability since integrity is referred to as honesty and trustworthiness in the discharge of official duties, serving as antithesis to corruption. Corruption is a fiduciary crime that is believed to slowly penetrate the construction sectors in countries across the globe. Hence, the aim of this paper is to investigate transparency initiatives of construction industry by identifying various strategies to eradicate corruption in the Malaysian construction industry. The methodology used for this research is based on qualitative research technique and the methods are two-folds: (1) preliminary interview, and (2) a well-planned brainstorming workshop. The findings revealed that nine (9) initiatives were taken based on the notion of integrity that can be divided into behavioural and technical issues. These are: Code of Ethics (CoE) for contractors, Integrity program, Bina Integriti journal, Code of Business Ethics for Construction Industry (for SMEs), CIDB reporting and sanctioning structure, Core Values, Legal and Enforcement, Integrity Pacts (IP), and Integrity Role Model. These initiatives are regarded as fundamental efforts in educating and creating awareness to the industry players despite a more drastic strategy could be considered by the construction industry for a more significant results. Keywords: Transparency, integrity, construction, corruption. Article history: Submitted: 21/12/2018; Revised: 31/12/2018; Accepted: 20/01/2019; Online: 01/02/2019 INTRODUCTION Transparency is the release of information about institutions which is relevant for evaluating those institutions with the potential to contribute to regime effectiveness (Lindstedt & Naurin, 2006). Armstrong (2005)refers transparency as unfettered access by the public to timely and reliable information on decision and performance in the public sector. For most Government bodies, transparency initiatives are essential elements to promote openness and reduce corruption and corrupt behaviour (Bertot, Jaeger, & Grimes, 2010). Cited in Park and Blenkinsopp (2011), Klitgaard (1988), states that corruption occurs as a form of behaviour violating the official ethics of public services. It can occur in the private or in the public sectors and often occurs simultaneously in both. According to Kolstad and Wiig (2009) there is a correlation between a lack of transparency and high levels of corruption. A higher level of transparency in decision making increases the probability that corruption or wrongdoing is detected and this is in line with the opinion of Bac (2001). Armstrong (2005) also emphasised that integrity provides the basis for transparency. Therefore, it is important to understand that integrity is the integral element contributing to transparency initiatives in order to reduce the opportunities of corruption in construction industry. On the other hand, Construction projects have an important role in developing any country’s economic and generating of employment in the economy (Khan et al., 2014). As for Malaysia, 120 and more industries rely on construction industry (CIDB, 2016) indicates how this industry is an important element to drive economic growth and development of Malaysia (Shehu, Endut, Akintoye, & Holt, 2014). Besides, it establishes the infrastructure required for socioeconomic development, while being a major contributor to the overall economic growth. This is due to the economic growth of any nation can be measured by the development of physical infrastructures (Takim & Akintoye, 2002; Abdullah, Chiet, Anuar, & Shen, 2004). Construction sector is one of the most lucrative sectors amounting to a $1.7 trillion industry worldwide and contributing to between 5 and 7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most countries (Kenny, 2007; Kenny, 2009; Murray & Meghji, 2009). As for Malaysia, for the years between 2005 and 2010, construction sector has contributed at an average of 3.18 per cent of the National GDP (MOF, 2011). Corruption is a fiduciary crime that is believed to slowly penetrate the construction sectors in countries around the world (Rahim, 2010). Corrupt practices occurs in forms such as bribery acts, extortionary acts, discriminatory acts, fraudulent acts,