whistleblower might also receive a reward, adding that the Department was now in the process of determining the amount.

'Bosses can't harm informers'
2010/12/10

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KOTA KINABALU: Employers could be hauled to court for retaliatory action, such as dismissal, against an employee who spilled the beans on them.

This was one penalty in the Whistleblower Protection Act when it comes into effect on Dec 15, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong.

He said the employee could go to court and ask for an injunction and any other relief, and the government would cover the costs which would be taxed against the defendant.


"A fine of up to RM50,000 or 10 years' jail, or both, awaits the employer if found guilty under the act," he said after opening a briefing to introduce the Act here yesterday.

The briefing was organised by the Department's legal affairs division.

Under the act, a whistleblower is accorded immunity against civil and criminal action, and protection against detrimental action.


It is aimed at fighting corruption and other wrongdoing in the public and private sector.

Liew said the whistleblower might also receive a reward, adding that the Department was now in the process of determining the amount.

However, he stressed that the incentive should not be the basis for a whistleblower to act, but the initiative to help curb corruption which he described as "a cancer in our society".


Liew said the protection was also extended to whistleblowers who made complaints prior to the implementation of the act.

"It is retrospective, even if the case was between 10 and 20 years ago. But it depends on the value of the evidence.

"The weight of the evidence will come into force," he explained. -- Bernama