Blow the Whistle on Corruption

Let’s say you’re a procurement executive at a company. You work hard to get reliable products and services for reasonable prices.

One day, you find out that one of your colleagues gave a contract to a vendor after taking a bribe. What would you do? Keep quiet or report it?

If you choose to report it, this is called whistleblowing.

A forum at Menara OUM in Kelana Jaya on 4 June explored the importance of whistleblowing in the private sector. It featured two panellists:

• PKPj Mohd Hasraff Hashim: Senior Assistant Commissioner and Head of the Private Sector Section, Community Education Division at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)
• Dr Nazruzila Razniza Mohd Nazri: Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Management

Dr Hamidah Mat, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, moderated the discussion.

Why Whistle?

Did you know that a single voice can expose a massive problem?

PKPj Hasraff revealed that a staggering 42% of fraud worldwide were discovered through tips from employees. “Employees are part of the system, so they know what’s happening,” he said.

Whistle Effectively

To maximise the impact of your report, it is important to provide quality information. “Answer the 5Ws and 1H: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How”, said PKPj Hasraff.

If you have supporting documents, like emails or recordings of suspicious conversations, these will add weight to your report.

Your Safety Net

The Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 protects whistleblowers in both the public and private sectors from civil and criminal action if they report wrongdoing in good faith. This means you will not be penalised for speaking up about something you believe to be wrong.

The MACC also accepts anonymous reports, for truly confidential reporting. The days of phone hotlines have long gone, as web-based reporting is now much more popular.

The Legal Lowdown

Section 25(1) of the MACC Act 2009 clearly outlines your obligation to report bribes. PKPj Hasraff added that there’s a “no wrong door” policy, which means you can report a wrongdoing to any enforcement agency, and it will be directed to the MACC.

Building a Culture of Integrity

METEOR Group CEO, Dato’ Naharudin Ali, capped off the session by launching the METEOR whistleblowing channel, easily accessible through an icon on the OUM portal menu bar. This dedicated channel empowers all METEOR staff to report wrongdoings with confidence.

The Bottom Line

Whistleblowing isn’t about getting other people into trouble because you hate them. Instead, it’s about standing up for what’s right.

This forum served as a call to action, reminding us that whistleblowing can be of benefit to our organisation.