GOVERNMENT agencies received an average of 11,819 reports from 429 whistleblowers on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal from 2012 to 2016, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament) told the Dewan Rakyat between 2012 and 2016, there was an average of 11,819 reports per annum from 429 whistleblowers while the average number of reports in the other years was 2,408 per annum from 98 whistleblowers.

Wan Junaidi was responding to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s (Port Dickson-PH) question on whether the government will rectify the weaknesses in the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.

He said there were 73,545 reports under the Act from 2011-2021, made by 527 people, which were used by seven enforcement agencies.

The seven agencies are police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Customs Department, Immigration Department, Road Transport Department, Companies Commission of Malaysia and the Securities Commission.

He said the low number of people using the law indicated that there are inadequacies in the management or its sections.

Wan Junaidi also told Parliament the government has identified seven weaknesses after a series of stakeholder consultations.

“Among the weaknesses are that the Act does not have a mechanism for internal complaints within a non-enforcement agency. The law also does not have an agency to manage the complaints it receives,” said the Santubong MP during the minister’s question time today.

He said the Act also has inconsistencies with other laws such as the Penal Code.

Wan Junaidi said a committee is reviewing the Act and will report to the cabinet next month. – November 16, 2021.