The thin line between corporate gift, hospitality and corruption: a legal study on Malaysia’s and the UK’s position

Purpose Corporate gift-giving and hospitality are some of the high-risk areas for corruption. This paper aims to see comparisons between the Malaysian Ministerial Guidelines and the UK Guidance and to analyse whether the guideline in Malaysia is adequate in dealing with corporate gift-giving and hospitality. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in this paper is qualitative research which is based on data collection through online searches, legal databases, information obtained from articles, books, statutes and related government publications. Findings The findings show that the statutory guideline in Malaysia is immature, still not adequate, and lacks detailed regulations in determining gifts and hospitality as corruption (unclear boundary), as compared to the UK law which is more detailed. Originality/value This paper explains on comparison of corporate gift giving and hospitality practise in Malaysia and the UK based on the statutory guidelines.