Limitation factors of whistleblowing practices among public sector internal auditors in Malaysia: in-depth interview study

Abstract

Like Malaysia, the commitment to eradicate the corruption was established through the enactment of Whistleblowing Protection Act 2010 (WPA). The effectiveness of whistleblowing plays a vital role in detriment corruptions issue. The recent Malaysia worst Corruption Perception Index 2017 encourages the need to explore the answers in relation to whistleblowing practice, particularly among public sector internal auditors in Malaysia. Hence, this study is warranted to explore the limitation factors of whistleblowing practices among public sector internal auditors in Malaysia. Due to the complexity of whistleblowing practice, this study decided to conduct a semi-structured interview among the internal auditors from ministries, statutory bodies and state government offices. The result of this study reveals that there are four limitation factors of whistleblowing practice, that include power distance, failure of WPA implementation, lack of manpower and ineffective internal control. This study also ignites few recommendations for the improvement of whistleblowing legislation in Malaysia.