By Ida Lim
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 ― Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) today called for whistleblowers to be protected, saying that they “put themselves at great risk” in exposing corrupt practices.
“Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) calls for the protection of whistle blowers, not for their persecution and what could be perceived as selective prosecution,” wrote the anti-graft watchdog’s president, Datuk Paul Low, in a statement today.
“Any perception by the public of selective prosecution is damaging to the enforcement agencies and the fight against corruption, and is inconsistent with the intention behind the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA).”
Low said that by enacting the WPA 2010, the federal government had itself “recognised the importance of whistleblowing.”
He noted that “whistleblowers put themselves at great risk to their livelihoods and careers and also to their work, family and community relationships.”
He also said that enforcement agencies need to verify and investigate reported wrongdoings “without fear or favour”.
Low’s statement comes after a court case directed the nation’s attention to the protection granted to whistleblowers.
Yesterday, PKR’s Rafizi Ramli and a former bank clerk were charged under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) for disclosing banking documents related to the alleged abuse of a RM250 million federal loan in the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal.
PKR today announced the set up of a “National Oversight and Whistleblowers Centre” (NOW), which will provide legal and monetary aid to those who come forward with information.