Authorities cannot threaten whistleblowers, Albert Tei urged to report
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said this was because the authorities should protect whistleblowers under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711).
'I have taken note of Albert Tei's lawyer today, regarding the allegation that Albert Tei had contacted the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding a corruption scandal but was warned by MACC officers not to appear in public or he would face problems.
'This is a very serious allegation and is completely unacceptable... I would like to advise the individual named Albert Tei to immediately file a report regarding this issue with the Royal Malaysian Police and the MACC Complaints Committee under Section 15 of the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694) by naming the MACC officers involved in the allegation.
'I give full assurance that the MADANI Government will not compromise on issues of threats like these, and that stern action will be taken if the allegation is found to be true,' he said when winding up the debate on the Whistleblower Protection (Amendment) Bill 2025 in Parliament on Tuesday (July 22).
The bill was later passed with a majority of votes in agreement after being debated by 24 Members of Parliament (MPs).
During the debate on the bill, several MPs raised the issue of a media report today regarding a statement by Albert Tei's lawyer, Mahajoth Singh, who claimed that his client was warned by the MACC not to come forward before he exposed the mining scandal in Sabah.
Regarding the Whistleblower Protection Committee in the amendment to the bill, Kulasegaran said the government would ensure that the committee's membership was free from conflicts of interest and of a high calibre.
He said that among the proposed members would be parties with knowledge and expertise in the aspect of whistleblower protection, including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or civil society organisations (CSOs), as well as academic experts.
'This will ensure independence, transparency, no conflict of interest, and checks and balances in the implementation of the committee.
'This Whistleblower Protection Committee is a stop-gap measure only, temporarily until a central agency is established, namely the Ombudsman Malaysia, which will take over the functions and duties of this committee with additional powers, including receiving complaints from whistleblowers covering improper and harmful conduct.
'The Ombudsman Malaysia will also monitor the results of investigations carried out by this enforcement agency, and any reporting to Parliament is very welcome for transparency purposes and will be implemented when the central agency is established,' he said, adding that standard operating procedures, including timelines will be detailed and set during the establishment of the Ombudsman Malaysia.
Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said when tabling the bill for the second reading said that the Whistleblower Protection Committee is responsible for obtaining and coordinating statistics and data related to disclosures and complaints received by enforcement agencies.
She said, however, that all statistics, data or information submitted to the committee cannot include any confidential information protected under Section 8, to ensure that there is no information leakage issue.
'This directly guarantees that the identity of the whistleblower remains protected as provided for in Section 6 of this act, thus ensuring that public confidence in the whistleblower protection system continues to be maintained,' she said.
She added that statistics showed that from 2011 to 2023, a total of 74,614 complaints related to improper conduct were received and investigated, while 1,139 people were recognised as whistleblowers and given protection.
The session continues today. - Bernama
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