COMMENT Whistleblowing is indeed a hazardous venture in Malaysia.

Government corruption has gained the wrath of citizens these last few years. With a rapidly changing political landscape, many have been goaded on to take the bull by its horns, putting fear on the back burner, by blowing the whistle on wrongdoing, misconduct and alleged corruption.

Protection is scant, government harassment aplenty, personal securities compromised and if past records are anything to go by, the messenger gets shot at, literally and in real time, the complaint gets swept under the rug, and the suspect roams free.

My Watch chief R Sri Sanjeevan can surely testify to this.

While no one can understand this braveheart’s passion and resolve, after having almost lost his life, and struggling to recover still, with fresh death threats looming large, this one man has single-handedly returned from the dead to slit open alleged corruption crimes in the police force with even more obsessive zeal.

His latest wrangle with the police is over a sex allegation involving a top cop. The expose is expected to be big news, going for the jugular and sending shockwaves through the entire police force.

Afraid that all previous complaints were stashed away from any respectable investigations, including that of his own shoot-to-kill case, Sanjeevan has refused to hand over his information, and had earlier sought assurances from the home minister and the prime minister that action will be taken, that the alleged perpetrator be suspended, and that a thorough investigation is carried out. No such assurance came, of course.

Instead, last week the Inspector-General of Police's Secretariat (disciplinary department) based in Bukit Aman issued a court order on Sanjeevan compelling him to hand over all evidence within 14 days to facilitate investigations under Section 509 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA).  

Recieving zero protection

The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) is deeply concerned that Sanjeevan will receive zero protection from the very laws designed to combat corruption, especially under the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) 2010.

Despite the WPA having the goal of giving protection to the whistleblower in the form of confidentiality of their information, immunity from civil and criminal action and protection from detrimental action being taken against them, Sanjeevan can tell you that he has enjoyed none of these thus far.

Under the WPA, a whistleblower does not enjoy any protection if he decides to communicate his allegation of wrongdoing to a person other than a government enforcement agency.

It is a further offence punishable by a fine of up to RM50,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years if a whistleblower or the person receiving or investigating the report discloses any information about the person accused of wrongdoing, or any other information disclosed by the whistleblower, to a third party.

In sharp contrast Under the New South Wales Public Interest Disclosure Act, if no action is taken by the enforcement agencies, a whistleblower will be protected if he brings the matter to the attention of a Member of Parliament or the media.

So with a piece of legislation that rings so hollow, what hope can whistleblowers like Sanjeevan have in gaining protection from the law, and lending trust with our public institutions?  

The lack of protective safeguards and proactive investigation in the WPA makes no difference for genuine whistleblowers.

C4 strongly recommends that the WPA is revisited and scrutinised again by lawmakers with the inputs from the Bar Council to ensure that public interest disclosure is protected at all times.

What little trust left in the police and other institutions, will crumble like shattered glass, if there is no political will to ensure independent investigations are carried out without delay, and self-governing oversight mechanisms like the  Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) be made effective immediately.  

CYNTHIA GABRIEL is the founder of Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4).