Related News: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/07/07/anti-graft-groups-give-whistleblowers-full-protection
Coverage by: The Star
PETALING JAYA: Strengthening the Whistleblower Protection Act will encourage more civil servants and the public to come forward with information about corruption, say anti-graft groups.
Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) acting chief executive officer Pushpan Murugiah (pic) said the current Act does not provide assurance to potential witnesses.
He cited the implications of Section 6(1) of the Act, which outlined that “a person may make a disclosure of improper conduct to any enforcement agency based on his reasonable belief that any person has engaged or is engaging in improper conduct: Provided that such disclosure is not specifically prohibited by any written law”.
Pushpan pointed out that this meant the whistleblower could face criminal prosecution if the information revealed is under the Official Secrets Act.
“Section 203A of the Penal Code also criminalises public officials for revealing information obtained while executing their duties or functions,” he said.
The whistleblower, he said, would also not be accorded protection if they decided to go public with their information, or reveal the information to a third party, after disclosing it to the enforcement agency.
Amending these provisions, Pushpan said, would allow whistleblowers to come forward, knowing their safety and livelihood will be protected and that they will not have to deal with criminal prosecution or other detrimental actions.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Dr Muhammad Mohan said the key issue was protection for whistleblowers.
“Once they are given protection by enforcement authorities, the Whistleblower Protection Act must override other laws even if the whistleblower violates other laws exposing the wrongdoing.
“The whistleblower must feel he is fully protected and will not face any retaliation,” he said.
He said corruption was not an issue that could be resolved overnight but could be reversed through the government’s commitment to not interfere with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, a former chairman of the MACC Panel on Corruption Consultation and Prevention, said: “Our Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score has been deteriorating over the years and what does that say? Why are we not doing better?”
Earlier this year, it was reported that Malaysia slipped one point in the global CPI score from 48 points in 2021 to 47 points out of 180 countries.
In 2019, Malaysia scored 53 under the CPI, 51 in 2020, 48 in 2021 and 47 in 2022.
Ramon, a former TI-M president, said it was “now or never” for the government to prove that it had taken the fight against corruption seriously.
“People don’t want to hear promises. We need less talk and more action,” he said. “There is no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to reforms. They can just refer to countries that successfully purged the menace.”
Social activist Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said politicians should set the right example for the public.
“These could be politicians who campaigned in the elections and asked for support to get into office. They must prove they are people of integrity,” he said.
Lee, however, noted that not all politicians were bad hats and there were those who were genuine and who served the people.
“The long arm of the law will catch up to anyone who does wrong,” he added.
