MALAYSIA
A former Chief Justice of Malaysia, Zaki Azmi (pictured) has urged the Public Service to introduce protection for whistleblowers.
Tun Zaki said it was the duty of all PS employees to report wrongdoing.
“If a Public Servant does not report it, then it means that person did not carry out his or her duty as a Public Servant,” Tun Zaki told reporters when asked if Government employees were allowed to speak up under the Public Service General Orders.
Asked to whom they should lodge a complaint, he said the authorities would have to decide on that and come up with a policy.
“It can be the Secretary-General if it is a Ministry or the Chief Secretary to the Government,” Tun Zaki said.
He said that according to a Public Service Department officer, there was no policy on whistleblowing covering PS employees.
“If we have the policy, the policy will determine how they make the report and the protection for them,” Tun Zaki said.
“There are models from private corporations that can be used.”
He said the policy must ensure that whistleblowers were protected unless the information was fake — then action could be taken against the whistleblower.
The former Chief Justice was also asked about the decision of Minister of Education, Maszlee Malik to end Tun Zaki’s term as Chair of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
“If he wants to appoint people for the good of UMS, people who can work with him, that is good for UMS,” Tun Zaki said.
Kuala Lumpur, 16 September 2018
