The fight against corruption in Malaysia is not an overnight battle, but a war which will take a prolonged period of time as fighting corruption is a slow process.
Mr Ravindran Devagunam, Director of Fighting Corruption NKRA, said the enactment of laws such as the Whistleblower Protection Act (WBPA), coupled with initiatives on political funding and public engagement in the formulation of new laws, are all indications that the political willpower exists to combat corruption in Malaysia.
Ravindran was responding to assertions by DAP leader Lim Guan Eng that Malaysia is not making any headway in its ongoing battle against corruption even with the WBPA in place due to Putrajaya's lack of political willpower and commitment.
"To use Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking as a blanket indicator that there is no leadership by example is misleading. It fails to take into account that the CPI ranking is not directly influenced by the enactment of the WBPA," he said.
In fact, Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer Survey, which measures actual government actions to fight corruption, showed Malaysia's rating improving from 48 percent in 2010 to 49 percent in 2011.
The GCB survey measures the rakyat's perception of the overall fight against corruption while the CPI focuses on grand corruption or political corruption.
"The WBPA is only one of a number of different institutional measures being put in place to fight corruption. It works in tandem with other initiatives we have implemented and there are more to come in the near future," he elaborated.
What the WBPA itself does is it empowers the public to come forward and report incidences of corruption to the authorities without any fear of reprisals.
In the long term war against corruption, Ravindran said the government has committed itself to giving the public the tools they need to join in the fight.
"The WBPA is modelled after legislation currently in effect in developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, all of whom have accorded protection to informers under their respective Whistleblower legislation," he said.
Unlike the Witness Protection Act, informers in Malaysia need not go to enforcement agencies to lodge a report and can instead do so at their own comfort at a time and location of their choosing, to an enforcement officer.
The WBPA in fact encourages investigation by enforcement agencies upon the receipt of valid information from the public.
"The willingness and commitment of the whistleblower himself is a key component of the decision to go to trial as it very much depends on the quality and nature of the evidence presented and subsequently unearthed during the investigation process," said Ravindran.
The function of the WBPA is to provide protections against potential civil and criminal action, protection of confidential information and protection against detrimental action as a result of a whistleblower coming forward.
"In the case of any potential misuse of funds, a whistleblower who approaches the right channels with a compelling case would receive protection under the WBPA.
This is exactly how the Act empowers people to come forward and join in the fight against corruption."
The WBPA protections and remedies will be granted regardless of which enforcement agency the whistleblower complains to, including the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) which is available for the public to complain about the misconduct of any enforcement officer and/or enforcement agency.
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Ashvin Khera is an analyst with Pemandu (Performance Management and Delivery Unit, Prime Minister's Department).
