Azalina: Whistleblowers should follow procedure, not go straight to the media
"I want to address something here, many people ask why whistleblowers are prosecuted when they go to the media.
"There are procedures in place where whistleblowers should not go directly to the media. The information must first be brought to the responsible agency so that its authenticity can be verified.
"One of the reasons for this is to prevent abuse of the system. Secondly, we want to ensure that state secrets are not disclosed by whistleblowers, especially in matters of national security.
"It is also to ensure that due legal process is followed. If information is disclosed to the media, it creates a premise of 'trial by media', where the public forms judgments on guilt or wrongdoing and this is unfair to the country's legal system," she said in reply to Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) during the oral question-and-answer session in Dewan Rakyat.
Wee had asked about the government's decision to amend the definition of eligible whistleblowers under the law, so that restrictive conditions or criteria cannot be used as grounds to exclude them from protection under the Act.
Azalina said the government aims to encourage whistleblowers to come forward to the appropriate agencies for assessment.
"Wrongdoing is wrongdoing, but there are times when whistleblowers must be given protection. The second premise is to place them under the witness protection programme.
"That is the framework we are working towards in handling whistleblower cases in this country," she said.
She added that it is the government's responsibility to ensure whistleblower safety is protected under the law.
"To uphold this initiative, in terms of confidentiality, Section 8 of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711) will continue to apply automatically to all individuals recognised as whistleblowers under the Act.
"The identity and information relating to whistleblowers are protected and cannot be disclosed without consent, except for investigation or legal proceedings, as clearly stated in the Act," she said.
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