TO HELP the fight against corruption, there are two things you need to do:

1) Stop paying bribes.
2) Report anyone who solicits a bribe from you.

The Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) has set up an anti-corruption hotline – 1800-88-6000 – for people to report cases, and Ravindran Devagunam, the anti-corruption National Key Result Areas director from Pemandu is urging young people to make use of it as they are the ones who can help reduce corruption in the long run.

“Young people need to make a stand. When you are caught speeding, insist on a fine, and report it,” said Ravindran.

The funny thing, he says, is you could very likely end up not getting a ticket at all: “The ticket will have the officer’s badge number, so if he had solicited a bribe from you, he probably wouldn’t want to let you have his badge number in case you make a report.”

The officer’s badge number alone isn’t enough to charge him, but Ravindran says if there are enough complaints about a particular officer, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) can launch an investigation.

He adds that a police officer is not supposed to have more than RM30 on his person while on duty. If the MACC receive a certain number of reports against him for having solicited bribes, they can perform a spot check to see if he has more than that amount on him.

“That’s why it’s important to call the hotline and report these cases. You might not have enough evidence to charge them, but you are helping to alert enforcement agencies. When there are enough reports and complaints, they will know which individuals or agencies they should look out for,” said Ravindran.

With the Whistleblower Protection Act now in place, informants can be assured that their identities won’t be revealed.