KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — The outcome of a study and parameters for the proposed amendments of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711) will be tabled to the Cabinet, scheduled next month, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
He said seven issues involving amendments to several sections of the law act were still being studied by the working committee, which comprised enforcement agencies, private companies, government-linked companies (GLCs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“Seven issues have been identified to be given priority in the process of improving the act,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a question fromPort Dickson MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the proposed review of the act and its effectiveness in protecting whistleblowers in cases of misconduct and high-profile corruption.
Wan Junaidi said of the 73,545 complaints received by enforcement agencies since 2011 until now, the number of informants involved was only 527 people.
According to him, several engagement sessions with stakeholders were held, including with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Government Accountability Project (GAP).
Act 711 was enacted to combat corruption and other misconduct by encouraging and facilitating whistleblowers to make disclosures of improper conduct, protecting persons making disclosures from harmful acts and ensuring that such disclosures are investigated and managed appropriately.
It is also in line with the government’s initiative with the signing of the United Nations Conventions Against Corruption (UNCAC) on September 20, 2008.
— Bernama
