Zaliha Hj Hussin

Reporting Misdeeds: An Evaluation on Intention to Blowing the Whistle

 Abstract—The aims of this study are two folds, to identify whether intention to whistle blow exists; and to ascertain the relationship between perceived organizational support, channel of communication, attitude and intention to blow the whistle. The study was conducted in seven public offices in West Malaysia, involving 511 employees. The findings indicate that all the predicted elements are moderately associated with the act of whistle blowing. On the other hand, channel of communication is proven to be the most dominant variable where the existence of facilities to complaint is seen as the driver for employees to move forward and tell the truth. Moreover internal programs held by the organizations also supported the findings, as a powerful tool to create awareness of the importance to blow the whistle within the organization setting; while fair and just treatments by the organization have generated trust and confidence amongst the employees where they feel empowered and belongingness. Whistle blowing is also perceived as a new commitment by the respondents as reflecting their loyalties to the organization.

Whistle blowing intention in relation to perceived organizational support, attitude to whistle blow, channel of communication among public servant

The aims of this paper are two folds, to identify as to whether intention to whistle blow exists; and to ascertain the relationship between perceived organizational support, channel of communication, and the attitude of those who with intention to blow the whistle. The study has undertaken population study in one of the Northern Regions public office which consists of 400 populations in total. At least 204 public servants were involved in this research as the respondents. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire. The findings indicated that there exists intention to whistle blow on the part of the within the organization (mean=4.059). Further analysis discovered that there are positive relationships between all variables with regards to the intention to blow the whistle. Channel of communication is the most dominant variable that drives the respondents to act morally in the organization.

Too good to leave, too bad to stay: Anti-retaliation precautionary measures for whistle blowers

Whistle blowing is an act of exposing the wrongdoings in an organization, either committed by its members of the lower level or the top management. Many have agreed that whistle blowing is an effective means of deterring and detecting organizational mishaps. Whistle blowers have been referred to as ‘canaries in the coal mine’. The idea of telling the truth however, may result in exposure to uncontrolled risk by the whistle blower. The extent to which the whistle blower is protected and safe after information is leaked to the public or the relevant authority remains unknown. In the Malaysian context, whistle blowing is not new. Being honest is a custom among Malaysians. Honesty is deeply rooted in Malaysian culture and is supported by the high value Malaysian place on spiritual belief which also put a premium on moral virtue. But being loyal to the management is another thing. A critical issue that whistle blowers face is the tension between the virtues of honesty and the virtues of loyalty. The ethical dilemmas faced by the whistle blowers place them in situations where there are significant and difficult ethical conflicts. Recently, the Parliament of Malaysia has passed the Whistle Blowing Protection Act which was seen as an holistic approach to cover all Malaysians who were willing to blow the whistle. Some do not feel confident that such program under the Act can be accomplished in Malaysia as the Malaysian culture believing ‘keeping things to ourselves’. Thus the paper intends to explore the anti-retaliation precautionary factors mediate by the culture that will most likely explain motivational issues subordinates face in publicizing the wrongs that are harmful to the organization in Malaysia.

Malaysian Young Voters’ Voices in the New Political Landscape

The 12th General Election in March 2008 had changed Malaysia’s political landscape in significant ways. A series of unexpected events happened and for the first time in history, the ruling party, Barisan Nasional (BN) failed to obtain the two third majority votes. This ‘political tsunami’ had influenced people from various backgrounds especially those in the political parties to probe further into the reasons behind the changes. After a series of ‘post mortem’ and discussions, political leaders now began to realise about the importance of moving out from their ‘comfort zone’ and responding immediately to the signals from the public. By ignoring people’s voice particularly the young voters who made up more than forty percent of the total voters, political parties were digging their own graves. Thus, this paper was written in order to identify young voters’ trends and preferences in choosing their candidates to represent them in the new political landscape. The findings of this research showed that young voters preferred to choose candidates based on their profile, images and personal characteristics, visions and missions as well educational backgrounds. Most importantly, the candidates must also be ‘clean’ in all aspects. Hopefully, the findings will provide political parties better understanding of the young voters’ needs and want in order to ensure their parties’ survival since this group of voters is the deciding factor of the future Malaysian political landscape.Keywords: by- election; young voters; candidate factor; Permatang Pasir