Workers still fear reporting misconduct of bosses
PUTRAJAYA: The awareness level on the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 is still not satisfactory as people in the workforce are still fearful about reporting misconduct of their bosses, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong.
He said whistleblowers reported only 124 cases between 2015 and April this year to the seven enforcement agencies, namely the Royal Malaysia Police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Royal Malaysian Customs, Immigration Department, Road Transport Department, Companies Commission of Malaysia and Securities Commission.
Speaking to reporters after officiating the “Towards Better Whistleblower Protection in Malaysia” workshop here today, Liew said the public need to be educated that there is nothing to fear and whistleblowers will get protection under the act, with their identities unknown to the person they reported and their department.
“But if you make yourself known to the world, then you are not entitled to the protection (under the act),” he said when asked on certain individuals who published the alleged misconduct on social media instead of lodging official complaints with the authorities.
“The evidence given in a flying letter may not be admissible because no one actually comes up to tell the agency what is happening,” he said, adding that the whistleblower would need to go to an agency so the evidence would be admissible in court.
“If an allegation comes in the form of an anonymous letter, it will become hearsay evidence,” he added.
The two-day workshop, which began today, was jointly organised by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department and MACC with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
It aims to review and reform the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.
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