PUTRAJAYA, April 11 — The Education Ministry has today signed the Corruption-Free Pledge with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and launched a new policy to better protect whistleblowers.

Minister Fadhlina Sidek, who was present as both a signatory and witness to the ceremony, said the pledge applied across all levels of her ministry from the top leadership to the respective state education departments.

"Firstly, I would like to give my personal guarantee that I will not compromise with any officers implicated in corruption. Secondly, I want all of us to be brave in lodging complaints of alleged corruption as there are available channels to do so.

"This commitment is a joint effort by all and must remain as an agenda to ensure the management of the ministry is more transparent and clean,” she said in her speech at the anti-corruption pledge signing ceremony here.

She also recounted her stint as a Shariah lawyer decades ago, where she witnessed firsthand corruption perpetrated by those who held power in religious institutions.

Separately, Fadhlina also launched the ministry’s policy on whistleblowers in line with the existing Whistleblower Act.

She said this policy would serve as a guideline and support for whistleblowers to lodge complaints of alleged corruption within the ministry.

The Corruption-Free Pledge places emphasis on the oath voluntarily taken by an organisation’s leadership and its members.

The objective is to ensure that each member performs their duties with integrity and is accountable for their actions.

It also prevents them from engaging in corrupt misconduct throughout their tenure.