WHISTLEBLOWING POLICIES & PROCEDURES Version 1.0
1 APRIL 2021
1. OBJECTIVE
BCT Asia Advisory Sdn Bhd (“BCTA”) is committed to carrying out its business in accordance with the highest standards of professionalism, honesty, integrity and ethics. Accordingly, BCTA has established the Whistleblowing Policy (hereinafter referred to as “Policy”) with the objective to cover serious public interest concerns that fall outside the scope of other procedures.
A person who has made a disclosure through the BCTA’s internal whistleblowing reporting channel is referred to as “Whistleblower” in this Policy. The disclosure by the Whistleblower shall be treated in strict confidence and without any risk of reprisal.
This policy should be read in conjunction with the BCT Asia’s Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy.
2. SCOPE
The policy governs the disclosures, reporting and investigation of misconduct within the company as well as the protection offered to the personnel(s) who lodge the disclosures [“Whistleblower(s)”] from
detrimental action in accordance to Act 711, Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.
This Policy applies to all employees of the company and covers all reports made against any employees that has committed an Incident. A report of an Incident may be made by:
a) Any employee who has knowledge of an Incident committed by another employee; and
b) Any external party that has knowledge of an Incident committed by an employee.
An Incident is generally described as any conduct by an employee which if proved, constitutes a criminal offence or any conduct that constitutes a wrongdoing or malpractice, and may include but are not limited to the following:
- Corruption (bribery, conflict of interests)
- Any criminal act, including criminal breach of trust
- Any act that is likely to cause significant financial losses or costs to the Company, including any intentional misrepresentation of the Company’s financial statements
- Fraudulent statements (financial, non-financial)
- Any other action that would cause significant harm to the Company or to any persons.
- Suppress or conceal any information relating to any of the above
3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1 Whistleblower
A Whistleblower is defined as any person who discloses the allegations of suspected misconduct or any breach or suspected breach of law and regulation that may adversely impact the Company.
Whistleblower may report or disclose misconduct via email by sending an official email to the dedicated email addresses, to highlight the issue verbally with the designated person or to have a private meeting so as to assure to have a transparent and clear understanding of the issue of concern. Alternatively, a form can be obtained from Head of Operations to file a case to disclose the misconduct by the Whistleblower.
In the event of raising a genuine concern, it is the responsibility of the Whistleblower to be accounted for the following:
- It is best to raise the concern in the earliest stage and identify or provide as much factual and verifiable facts pertaining to the issue / allegation;
- To safeguard from the abuse of this disclosure process, a malicious or knowingly false complaint will not be entertained or may lead to disciplinary / legal proceedings; and
- Investigation / verification proceedings must not be discussed or disclosed to any other personnel as a way to assure of the integrity and confidentiality of the matter.
It is the company’s policy to encourage its employee or business associates to disclose any misconduct, and to fully investigate disclosures of such misconduct. Is the Company’s policy to engage into a proper execution of protection to Whistleblower in terms of confidentiality of information and safeguard the Whistleblower from any act of interference that may be detrimental to the Whistleblower. The company assures that all disclosure will be treated with strict confidentiality and prompt investigation will be executed upon verification of genuine case reported.
3.2 Board of Directors
The Board of Directors withheld full authority to approve this policy. The Board of Directors shall oversee that adequate resources are available to address all concerns raised by the Whistleblower with proper investigation and appropriate action taken. They should be responsible and to guarantee the protection of Whistleblower if the disclosure is made in good faith (effectively this means honestly) and in accordance to the Policy.
3.3 Whistleblower Committee (WC)
The company has set up Whistleblower Committee consisting of one director and one associate director to implement this Policy and to execute it across the company by fostering and maintaining an environment where Whistleblower can act appropriately, without fear of retaliation.
3.4 Recipient of Disclosures
The official avenues for disclosure by the Whistleblower are through the following recipients:
- Head of Operations
- Whistleblower Committee
The recipients are responsible to evaluate the issues / concerns disclosed relating to the Company or its employees and determine that there is genuine concern to be investigated further and to decide their next course of action at their discretion.
4. PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING
Disclosure of misconduct shall be in writing and to be sent to whistleblower@bcta.com.my. The disclosure should seek to obtain pertinent facts including:
- The background and history of the issues concerned (provision of relevant dates)
- The reason why the Whistleblower is particularly concerned about the situation; and
- Enclose any supporting or documentary evidence (if available).
If an allegation is being raised verbally, the recipients of disclosures are required to record the incidents in the writing. The information should be reviewed and confirmed by the Whistleblower. The recipients of disclosure must determine whether there is sufficient evidence to substantiate the disclosure and the corrective and preventive actions to be taken.
Any anonymous disclosures shall not be entertained. Any employee who reports a misconduct is required to disclose his / her identity to the Company as to allow the Company to accord the necessary protection against him / her. However, the Company reserves the right to investigate into any anonymous disclosure.
* Fill in Whistleblower Disclosure Form
5. INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES
A designated recipient will investigate the case and propose action to be undertaken. The designated recipient may arrange interviews with any persons he deems appropriate, depending on the nature of the allegation and to secure the discovery / disclosure of all relevant documents and information.
Where deem appropriate, the disclosure raised may:
a) Be further investigated by WC, or dealt with through the disciplinary process;
b) Be referred to the relevant authority such as the Royal Malaysia Police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or regulatory authorities, such as Securities Commission, etc.; or
c) Lead to the seeking of relevant external assistance other than those listed above.
The Company reserves the right not to inform the Whistleblower of the precise action plan and / or the outcome of the investigation as this may infringe a duty of confidentiality owned to someone else.
The concluded investigation report shall be presented to the Board of Director. The Board will evaluate and decide on the necessary action(s).
6. EMPLOYEE AWARENESS
This Policy is practicable by all employees and business associates and they shall be given appropriate awareness of this Policy and such information is made accessible in Corporate Portal. This shall include information on how to identify and disclose misconduct, communicate the protections afforded to Whistleblowers, and potential consequences of committing or being complicit to misconduct.