KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 (Bernama) -- The Senate was told today that 32 informants had been provided protection after they exposed cases of malpractices and misconduct in the public and private sectors since the enforcement of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said 1,100 reports of "improper conduct" including graft were received between January and March 31 this year.

"The Act implemented by seven agencies, namely the Royal Malaysian Police, Anti-Corruption Commission, Royal Customs Department, Immigration Department, Road Transport Department, Companies Commission and Securities Commission appears to be effective and gaining public attention in the war against corruption in particular," he said.

Throughout last year, 1,690 cases were exposed, he said, in reply to a question from Senator Datuk Maijol Mahap who wanted to know the number of reports received.

To a supplementary question from Maijol on the action taken under the Act since its introduction in 2010, Liew said he did not have the complete statistics to provide the answer.

"Nevertheless, we are satisfied with the cooperation and feedback from the public who have come forward to give information and assist the government," he said.

Liew said the Act encouraged the public to expose corrupt practices and other forms of misconduct, as it provided adequate protection for them.

"The report can be made through a letter or email, accompanied by the informant's telephone number and address for the purpose of confirming his/her identity to discourage false reports or information," he said.

Responding to Maijol again who wanted to know the government's seriousness in educating the public on the Act, Liew said a series of 51 roadshows had been carried out since Sept 30, 2010 and it was ongoing.

The Act gazetted on Dec 15, 2010 is a major legislative initiative under the National Key Result Area (NKRA) in the Government's Transformation Programme to tackle corruption.