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

Authors: Noridayu Binti Abdullah Sani; Abdullah Sallehhuddin Bin Abdullah Salim; Nahariah Binti Jaffar

Addresses: Faculty of Business, Multimedia University, Malaysia ' Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Malaysia ' Faculty of Management, Multimedia University, Malaysia

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.

Keywords: Whistleblowing Protection Act 2010; whistleblowing practice; public sector organisation; internal auditor; Malaysia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBCRM.2020.108511

International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, 2020 Vol.10 No.2/3, pp.133 - 145

Received: 01 Dec 2018
Accepted: 25 Jun 2019
Published online: 15 Jul 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article