PM backs Azalina on no protection for whistleblowers engaging media first

Summary

• Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says there is a reason for whistleblowers going to the media not being given protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.

• He says those accused of crimes will be condemned before being investigated or given the opportunity to explain.

• However, Anwar says the government is looking into the matter.

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Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today said there's a reason for informants not being protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 when going to the media.

He argued that when whistleblowers go to the media first, those accused of crimes will be condemned before even having been investigated or given the opportunity to explain themselves.

"But we are really looking at it. (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said) has a draft," he told the press after an event at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre today.

On Feb 4, Azalina said that informants who go to the public first will not be protected by amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act.

She said going to an enforcement agency must be the first step for whistleblowers.

But yesterday, she clarified that whistleblower protection will be provided regardless of who is incriminated as long as informants comply with the said law.

The discussion on whistleblowers came after Malaysiakini's exposé of alleged corrupt assemblypersons in Sabah.

The said whistleblower, a businessperson, had released a series of videos implicating assemblypersons supposedly in discussions about bribes to facilitate an application for a mining exploration licence.

Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor dismissed the allegations as attempts to destabilise the state government and tarnish its reputation.

Last month, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the investigation into the scandal has been completed and the investigation papers have been submitted to the deputy public prosecutor.

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