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Malaysia passes limited whistleblower protection

The Star of Penang, Malaysia, reports that parliament there has passed a new Whistleblower Protection Bill. Unfortunately, the bill only protects informants who provide confidential information to the government. The Star rightfully inquired of the government why other disclosures would not be protected. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong answered,  “We have to distinguish the matter involved in Balasubramaniam and Raja Petra’s case. They are not whistleblowers because they re­­vealed their identity. They told the world who they were. A whistleblower is someone whose identity we don’t know.” Obviously, this is a narrow view of whistleblowing that I do not share.

Liew also told The Star that a person could not seek protection under the new Act when he exposed information to the media. He added that protection for the informant would be withdrawn if the informant exposed it to the media after disclosing the information to enforcement agencies. This view is contrary to the majority view in American courts: going to the media is often the most effective way to get the government to take action.


International Whistleblower News (October 26)

[Malaysia] Tsin, Yip Ai, “Whistleblower Act wins TI-M approval,” Malaysiakini, October 26, 2009.

Anti-graft watchdog Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has lauded the proposed Whistleblower Act, which will provide immunity to informants against civil or criminal action. "By putting in place the protection of whistleblowers, the government (will) promote integrity and freedom of speech, which are crucial conditions for democracy, the rule of law and sustainable development," said TI-M secretary-general Loi Kheng Min in a statement today. Click here to read more.

[UK] Chadwick, Edward, “Birmingham MP John Hemming gives refuge to Jersey whistleblower,” Birmingham Post.net, October 26, 2009.

A Birmingham MP has taken an on-the-run whistleblower into his home after he claimed asylum in the UK. John Hemming says Stuart Syvret will be arrested “over his dead body” after the former Jersey health minister holed up at his London flat. He is facing prison after leaking a police report into an aborted investigation surrounding the conduct of a male nurse on the island. Mr Syvret will ask the British Government for legal asylum and “protection from harassment” from the Jersey authorities. Click here to read more.

Previous post about Stuart Syvret in NWC blog

[Canada] “The Richard Colvin Case,” FAIR.

Richard Colvin was a senior diplomat posted in Afghanistan from April 2006 to October 2007. Starting in May 2006 he repeatedly raised concerns about the potential for torture of prisoners handed over byy the Canadian military to Afghan police. He raised these concerns to senior officials at Foreign Affairs and National Defence, copying 79 different people across government. Click here to read more.

 

[Australia] “Australia considers new whistleblower protections, Compli.net, October 23, 2009.

The Australian government has released plans to increase the protections for corporate whistleblowers in an effort to increase disclosures to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. At present, corporate whistleblowers are covered under Part 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act 2001, which was amended to provide protection in 2004. The government is concerned that during this time only four individuals have felt that they had adequate protection to use the "whistleblower" protections to make disclosures against their company. Click here to read more.

[Northern Ireland] “Whistleblower takes harassment case to high court,” FermanaghHerald, October 21, 2009.

A 54-YEAR-OLD senior civil servant from near Enniskillen who was awarded an out of court settlement by an industrial tribunal in September 2007, is now taking a high court case for harassment against the Cross Border Body Waterways Ireland and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. Brian McTeggart had been seconded from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to a post with Waterways Ireland at its Enniskillen All-Ireland headquarters and later became its director of corporate services. Click here to read more.

You can download PDF files of the news in each country’s page: Australia, Canada, Malaysia, and UK and Northern Ireland.